When Stars Collide
by Mavynn
Summary: Fraternal twins Alya and Ginny are close, but very different. Ginny is outgoing and athletic. Alya is shy and studious. Ginny liked hero Harry Potter and Alya could not seem to stay away from a pale blonde Slytherin bad boy. Jealous of the closeness of what she considers the "real" twins and feeling ostracized by her family Alya also develops a hero worship of an older pale blonde
1. Alya Weasley

**Don't you hate it when your stories start to wrap up? I do. I almost hate to go finish them. Before that happens I always try to get another one up and running. This one is for Duke157's Jealousy Challenge and for dingledong who asked that I write something that included Professor Snape as less of a bad guy.**

 **Part I The Hogwarts Years Peace Time:**

 **Year One (Two)**

In a houseful of magic I learned very early that if I practiced magic the Ministry couldn't tell if I was doing it or if it were another member of my household. So I took every opportunity to study my older sibling's school books and by doing so I memorized all of the basic spells I would need to start school with. I also taught myself to transfigure small items like quills and cauldrons from ordinary rocks and twigs.

Not that anyone was impressed. My parents took it as a personal insult on their financial stability and Percy told me that my cauldron was likely too dangerous to use so they had all been whisked away from me. I had also been scolded for using magic illegally and endangering my father's position with the Ministry.

But wait, let me back up a moment and introduce myself. I am no one important really and most people over look me. My name is Alya Weasley. I am the fraternal twin of Ginny Weasley. Meaning not identical like Fred and George. Ginny and I aren't much alike. She like brooms and sports, I like books and studying. She is outgoing and funny. I am quiet and serious. And unlike every other Weasley in the history of Weasley's I alone inherited my grandmother Cedrella's dark brown hair and almost black eyes.

I look nothing like a Weasley.

Sometimes I wonder if I got left on their doorstep. I don't always feel like a Weasley either.

In a loud raucous family I had learned silence was my best weapon so I had said nothing when they scolded me for my transfiguring. I put my head down and feigned a remorse I did not feel, and then went to my only private space, a small tree house I had fashioned from the branches of an old willow. If my family ever found out I would be in trouble for that too. But it was comfortable. I had made pillows from the old jumpers my mother had knitted for me and brought up old school books deemed too tattered to pass down and repaired them for my studies. A simple engorgio spell had turned one of my pillows in to a very serviceable couch. I flopped on this now and studied potions. Without the ingredients I could not actually make any but I could certainly learn the theory.

It was not until later that I leaned spells like engorgio and the ones I had performed to fix up the tree house and most especially my transfiguration spells were not normally possible for someone my age. But at the time it seemed normal enough.

It was not that my family did not love me or I them. It was just that we do not particularly understand each other. I cannot understand how my father does not want to leverage his position in to something more. He could have. I have read about other heads of his department who had used it as a springboard in to lucrative political careers, but he was just so… so… likeable! Everyone liked him. Not that there was anything wrong with being liked. I certainly like me father as well as loving him, but being liked on the job did not always translate in to more money.

Like the Malfoy's. Almost no one liked them, but they had more money than Merlin. Not that I want to be like the Malfoy's, Circe no, but there has to be a happy medium between being universally hated and being dead broke.

Not that I can do anything about it at eleven years old Ginny and I would just be starting school this year. At least Ginny would then have the object of her crush in front of her and maybe then I would not have to hear quite so much about him.

Oh who was I kidding? Ginny had it bad. I would have sworn that we had made an unbreakable vow not to like any boys. That boys were gross. Maybe we had performed the spell wrong.

Well, enough studying, I absolutely was NOT hiding or sulking in my tree house. Time to go back and face the family.

When I returned I was surprised to find none other than Harry Potter sitting in my chair at the dining room table. We both stared at each other for a time and I said the only thing that came to mind "You are in my chair." Grace thy name is Alya.

"Sorry" he said and started to move.

Now I just felt bad. He looked tired and half starved.

It made me want to feed him a sandwich.

Maybe I am a Weasley after all.

"No, it is fine, please stay, you just… surprise me." I tried to smile in a welcoming way. "Pumpkin juice?" I did not wait for an answer and poured both of us a glass.

Then I made him a sandwich. Darned it, not only am I a Weasley, apparently I am my mother. When did this start happening?

"Thanks." He looked uncomfortable. I understood this, not being particularly the comfortable sort of person to be around.

"Sorry" I said "I am not really good at this whole hostess thing."

"No, it's not you…I" just then Fred and George came in.

Ah yes, the "real" twins.

Maybe it is just me who thinks of them that way.

Or maybe it is just me who is willing to say it aloud.

As alike as if they were looking in a mirror. They finish each other's sentences. Ginny and I couldn't even finish each other's sandwiches. Literally, we hate the same kinds of foods. Sometimes I wish we were closer. But it isn't like she is making a huge effort either. She doesn't understand why I can't be happy with the way things are and I can't understand why she doesn't want more. But she is my twin. I can say that if push came to shove no one would ever come between those bonds. At least that was what I believed at the time. It was such a naively innocent belief.

It isn't like I am jealous of the things other people have. I don't want THEIR stuff. I want us to have our own stuff. I can't see what is so wrong with that. And I don't know why my family feels like my desires are so wrong.

"And how is our favorite Snake today?" asked George ruffling my hair in a way that he knows annoys me

At Harry's questioning look I said "My name is Alya, it is the Theta Serpent star. We would have met last year when Mum and dad dropped off the other's but I was sick and stayed home under threat of being on punishment until I was 35 if I stepped one toe out of line." We both laughed at that breaking the ice somewhat.

"Bloody brilliant, her name isn't it Harry?" asked Fred.

"And fitting" continued George "Especially since I swear she has fangs just like one and she is as quiet."

I said nothing. Neither did Harry. Mum came in just then "Fred, George stop teasing your sister."

"Aww Mum, she knows we are just kidding, right little Snake?"

"I need to get ready to go. Are we leaving soon Mum?"

"Yes, make sure Ron and Ginny are ready to go."

That was going to go over really well.

Ginny hated to be told what to do by her twin and Ron hated to be told what to do by his little sister.

I swear sometimes she does this just to make my life miserable.

I feel bad thinking that though. Mum works really hard and she just looks so tired all the time.

Once when I was seven I tried to train the garden gnomes to help with house work. I thought it was going really well too. Until they broke all the dishes and stole Mum's yarn.

That was when I started working on the tree house.

"Pleased to meet you Harry Potter." His eyes grew wide and he just nodded as I shook his hand.

Nice boy, a little too quiet for my tastes. I hope he finds his voice soon. The world is a cruel place for those who can't talk. Less so for those who just refuse to do so.

I don't really know how I knew the difference at eleven.

Ginny had been red as a beet when I went to check on her. I was confused until I remembered who was downstairs. I rolled my eyes at her. "Ginny, he is just a boy. And he looks like he could use a friend. You should talk to him. I tried but I am no good at that sort of thing."

She laughed and hugged me "You mean the talking to other human beings thing? You should try practicing with your family."

I rolled my eyes again and left to get ready pounding on Ron's door on my way past getting an angry shout from him.

I checked my robes to make certain they were in good repair. I positively refused to go out looking like I was poverty stricken.

When I was satisfied I joined my family downstairs.

That was another big difference between me and my family. I took care with my appearance. I wanted to make a good impression on others.

Not that my family didn't make an impression.

I know it sounds like I don't like them. It is easy to get that. But what you need to understand is that at eleven I found them embarrassing. I loved them, but I wanted them to be different. I wanted them to be like the families I saw in Witch Weekly. I didn't know any better. It didn't mean I didn't love them. It wasn't until I was older that I learned better. I think that can be pretty much said to be true of most things kids do. But at the time all I knew was my family was embarrassing.

And I loved them. I just sometimes wish I could be more like them so I would fit in. Or actually what I wanted was for them to be more like me. I hadn't learned yet how to accept people as they were, including myself.

"Well, don't you look posh" teased Fred.

As usual I remained silent.

Silence is a great weapon. No one expects it. They want a reaction. They want you to get angry to fight back to give them something to work with. If you just stare at them they have to meet you on your terms.

"Alright, we will be traveling by floo…" I rather tuned the rest out Harry had never travelled this way and mother fussed and when she starts doing that I have a hard time focusing. At least it was Harry this time and not me.

My mother probably got an "O" in her fussing NEWT. I laughed at this causing Fred to raise an eyebrow at me. I shrugged.

When Harry stepped in it was to be my turn next, but I could tell he had said it wrong. Doing a quick calculation in my head I knew he had gone one grate over at most. Floo travel just isn't that complicated. Knowing exactly how much trouble I would be in I stepped forward and before anyone could stop me I said "I will get him" threw my floo powder down and whispered "Knockturn Alley" so no one would know where I went. You have to say it clearly not loudly.


	2. Lucius Malfoy

**Chapter 2**

I came out just in time to see Harry disappearing in to a cabinet and hurried to join him getting a squeak out of him.

I put a finger to my lips "shhhh"

We watch as two wizards one older and one younger both with pale blonde hair enter.

"Touch nothing, Draco." Said the older wizard

Ah. The Malfoys. Must be. I heard Dad talking about them, unlikely there was another boy our age named Draco. He was OK looking. For a boy I guess.

Malfoy, who had reached for a glass eye, said, "I thought you were going to buy me a present."

"I said I would buy you a racing broom," said his father, drumming his fingers on the counter.

"What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team?" said Draco, looking sulky and bad tempered.

"Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He's not even that good, it's just because he's famous . . . famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead. . . ." complained Draco bending down to examine a shelf full of skulls. ". . . everyone thinks he's so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick…"

"You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son. "And I would remind you that it is not… prudent… to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear… ah, Mr. Borgin."

I pretty much ignored the rest of what they were saying to watch Draco. Did I say OK looking? He was actually better than that. Not that I would ever admit that to literally anyone. I mean what he was doing to his hair was stupid all greased back like that but his eyes were grey. I had never seen anyone with grey eyes before. I felt my heart racing. This was stupid. I had to get a hold of myself. I was NOT going to turn into my twin mooning over some stupid boy.

Not that Harry was stupid. He was actually pretty nice. But I was still not going to run out of the room when I saw him.

And I wasn't going to run out of the room when I saw Draco either.

Not like it mattered. Malfoys and Weasleys did not mix. That was the way of things. That was my father said. I may not understand why he refuses to make the most out of what he does at work but he knows about other stuff. Like social status. They have it, we don't.

I had been musing this over I had not noticed they left until Harry tugged my hand.

Quietly we sneaked out of the place and in to a much worse place.

Knocturn Alley.

There were all sorts of frightening people around.

An old crone asked us "Not lost are ya m'dears?"

We backed away, Harry pulling me away telling her, "No we're fine." It was sweet him protecting me.

Suddenly we heard ""HARRY! ALYA! What d'ya think yer doin' down there?"

"We were lost" Harry said to a big shaggy man stalking towards us.

It was Hagrid and I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life.

He grabbed us and dragged us away from the old witch. He continued dragging us straight to Gringotts muttering the whole way.

"Yer a mess!" said Hagrid gruffly, brushing soot off us so forcefully he nearly knocked us into a barrel of dragon dung outside an apothecary. "Skulkin' around Knockturn Alley, I dunno dodgy place, you two don' want no one ter see yeh down there..."

"We realized that," said Harry, ducking as Hagrid made to brush him off again. "I told you, we were lost what were you doing down there, anyway?"

"I was lookin' fer a Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent," growled Hagrid."They're ruinin' the school cabbages. Yer not on yer own?"

"I'm staying with the Weasleys but we got separated," Harry explained."We've got to go and find them..."

"Thanks for finding us Hagrid" I said quietly startling him. Most people aren't used to me talking outside of the home.

"Errr… yer welcome Alya, we better head off and find yer folks I expect they're worried."

We set off together down the street.

"How come yeh never wrote back ter me?" said Hagrid as we jogged alongside him (we had to take three steps to every stride of Hagrid's enormous boots). Harry explained all about Dobby and

The Dursleys. I had heard the story that morning.

"Lousy Muggles," growled Hagrid. "If I'd've known..."

"Harry! Harry! Over here!"

Harry and I looked up and saw a girl our age with bushy brown hair waving a us standing at the top of the white flight of steps to Gringotts. She ran down to meet us, her bushy brown hair flying behind her.

"What happened to your glasses? Hello, Hagrid... Oh, it's wonderful to see you two again... Are you coming into Gringotts, Harry?"

"Hermione!" Harry said, clearly pleased to see her "As soon as I've found the Weasleys, speaking of which this is Alya, Ron's younger sister and Ginny's twin." Harry introduced us, we shook hands.

"Yeh won't have long ter wait," Hagrid said with a grin.

Harry, Hermione and I looked around: Sprinting up the crowdedstreet were Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Mr. Weasley.

"Harry, Alya" Mr. Weasley panted. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far. . . ." He mopped his glistening bald patch. "Molly's frantic... she's coming now..."

"Where did you come out?" Ron asked.

"Knockturn Alley," said Hagrid grimly.

"Excellent!" said Fred and George together.

"We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.

"I should ruddy well think not" said Hagrid.

Mum came running up her bag swinging wildly "Oh Harry my dear… you could have ended up anywhere…"

"And YOU young lady" she said whirling on me "how could you even THINK of rushing off like that?! You had us so worried! You are on punishment until further notice!"

As usual I said nothing. I just stared straight ahead. Neither apologizing nor protesting. They had learned that attempting to get a reaction from me was pointless. The more they prodded the longer it would be before I spoke a word.

We went to Flourish and Blotts to get our books. It was a freak show. There was some sort of fancy pants author with shiny hair signing books. Mum has some of his books. I can't remember his name, I am not interested in how he badgered some troll that was probably minding its own business before killing it. Jerk. He will come to a sticky end chasing off after dangerous creatures and monsters. I took a financial advisory book and went upstairs to read.

I was surprised to find Mr. Malfoy and Draco Malfoy upstairs watching the show below. Both were equally surprised to see me.

Mr. Malfoy looked at the book in my hand "Wizard Investing for Beginners".

"An interesting choice in reading material young lady. Are you particularly interested in investing or was it merely the first pretty book to catch your eye" he sneered.

"I am interested in learning to invest Mr. Malfoy, sir." I said quietly and politely.

He seemed mildly surprised. "You recognize me?"

"You are well known in financial circles Mr. Malfoy. It would be impossible to read the financial papers without coming across your name." He smiled at that.

"Reading investment books and financial papers. My, my and a Weasley too." I tried to ignore the fact that he sounded like it was interesting someone had taught a particularly dull dog a new trick "How old are you young lady?"

"I am eleven sir, I will be starting Hogwarts this fall." I was almost surprised at myself. I had not spoken this much to anyone outside of family in a long time.

"You are familiar with me it would seem, but I am not familiar with you, have your parents taught you no manners?" It was a mild censure, but I admit I had not wanted to tell him who I was.

"They taught me well sir, I admit I had wanted to keep it from you as long as possible."

"And why might that be?"

"My name is Alya. Alya Weasley. And the one thing I grew up knowing is that Weasleys and Malfoys don't mix." I watched his face carefully and noticed he was doing the same.

Draco had ignored our entire exchange until this point, probably finding me the most boring girl he had ever seen but now he turned and looked me up and down "You don't look like a Weasley, where is your red hair?"

"Draco, manners." Mr. Malfoy warned him.

I shrugged slightly "I am told I look like my grandmother Cedrella Black."

Mr. Malfoy smiled oddly "While Weasleys and Malfoys may not mix well child, I think you may find Blacks and Malfoys mix rather well. Tell me," he asked tenting his fingers "If someone gave you the money to invest what would you invest in?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Nothing?" he seemed surprised.

"Nothing sir. I would not accept it in the first place. Money is not given freely. There are usually lots and lots of strings attached." I tried very hard to sound wise.

"Where does an eleven year old little witch become such a cynic?" asked Mr. Malfoy amused. Draco had gone back to ignoring us.

I looked down at my family below. "I read the books on Black family history in our attic. My grandmother may have been disowned but she still had some things with her when she left. They offered her money to leave her family. Strings. At least that was what she said in her diary. I want anything I make to have been made on my own." I could not explain this need I had to do it on my own. I just did.

"Alright young lady, let's say you manage to earn the money to invest on your own what would you invest in?" he smiled indulgently at me I knew he was expecting me to want to invest in sweet shops or something silly.

"Hazel tree groves sir." I said confidently.

He looked at me both surprised and confused. "And what is your reasoning for this particular investment… opportunity?"

"Birch has been the tree of choice for the brush of fine racing brooms" Draco was certainly interested in this as he turned around suddenly, I became a little uncomfortable under his intense gaze "but a recent article in Seeker Weekly suggests that the Hazel tree offers superior speed and durability. There are a few growers who are working on some hybrid species. Everyone talks handles but forgets the brush is the anchor and rudder. That Mr. Malfoy is what I would invest in and my reason for doing so."

"An interesting idea young lady, if not a sound investment for your first opportunity. You may be better suited to something less risky. Are you interested in Quidditch?"

"Not particularly. I just sometimes notice things others don't pay attention to."

"A dangerous hobby young lady."

I smiled "Not usually. I don't normally talk to people this much Mr. Malfoy. Whatever I notice or don't notice rarely interests anyone but myself."

"Then I shall consider myself honored Miss Weasley."

"You are kind to say so Mr. Malfoy. I do not think we will meet one another again but I am very pleased to have done so today."

"Have you always spoken like this?" he asked smiling at me again. He seemed gentle at that moment. Almost fatherly.

"I am sorry sir? In what way?" I was genuinely confused.

"Like a cynical old man trapped in the body of a very young girl." He was still smiling so I did not get upset at what he said.

"Yes sir, I suppose I have. When I have bothered to speak at all. I don't have much practice with it." I explained.

"Much practice with… speaking?" now it was his turn to appear confused.

"Yes sir. I find that in a family of my size the less one speaks the happier one is."

For some reason this amused him greatly and he laughed before telling me good bye.

He and Draco took their leave, Draco once again taking no notice of me. For the best I knew. Whatever the funny feeling in the pit of my stomach was I needed to ignore it in favor of absorbing as much of this book as I could before I had to leave.

Which thanks to an incredibly unexpected brawl between my father and Mr. Malfoy happened much sooner than I anticipated.


	3. The Sorting

**Chapter 3**

It was official. Ron, Fred and George steal the car and break Harry out of the jail his family kept him in and were nearly seen. Ron and Harry stole the car _again_ and _were_ seen and then lost it and tore up the Whomping Willow and I was still the biggest disgrace and disappointment in the Weasley family.

It all started with that stupid hat.

Or maybe it was on the train.

Or at the book store.

Or When Fred and George gave me that stupid nickname.

Or at birth.

Oh, I don't know.

All I know is that stupid hat ruined my life.

I waited my turn in line with everyone else waiting for my name to be called. I was pretty much ignoring everyone around me because paying attention to them seemed like something I would not really be interested in doing. They were all hopping from foot to foot and fidgeting and Ginny kept trying to sneak peeks at Harry Potter but pretending she wasn't.

I would never be so ridiculous over some stupid boy. No matter how gray his stupid eyes were.

And they weren't even that gray anyway. More like a pale blue.

Not that I even noticed.

They finally called my name. Right before Ginny's because they were going in alphabetical order. The hat goes on and I am expecting it to holler out "GRYFFINDOR!" like it I heard it had done for all of my brothers.

Except it doesn't. It starts talking to me. No one told me it would want a nice little chit chat.

"hmmm… a Weasley head but not a Weasley mind… interesting. Bold, but not overly so. Clever, Ravenclaw would not be a bad choice. Loyalty is not a top priority. But ambition is. I see it all here. Yes, very ambitious, better be SLYTHERIN!"

The entire hall went dead silent at that. Unlike the applause from the other announcements no one moved a muscle including me. This had to be a joke. One of Fred and George's pranks. But when I looked at them the horror on their face said definitely not.

I was not going to let them see this get to me. I stood up and walked to the Slytherin table as though I belonged and sat down.

Some girl with dark hair sneered at me "Ughh they just let a Weasly in to Slytherin, can you think of anything worse Drakey?"

Being called "Drakey" immediately jumped to mind but as usual I said nothing. I merely stared at her. I stared at her through Ginny being sorted in to Gryffindor. I stared until she grew uncomfortable enough to turn away. My greatest power is to make those around me incredibly uncomfortable.

It turned out to not be all bad. Sure there were the elitists, but some of the others seemed friendly enough. I assumed they would all be rich pureblood snobs. Pureblood yes, it is a requirement, but rich not so much.

There were a few others next to me who introduced themselves Esme Fleamont, Morag MacDougal who I learned liked to be called just Mora, brothers James and Frank Gamp. They were pretty nice and didn't seem to mind that I was quiet. They made sure to include me even when I didn't say much and it made it seem OK to be sorted into what my family would call the "wrong" house.

After dinner when we started to walk towards our dorm I felt my two arms link through mine.

Fred and George smiled down at me "Hey little Snake" said George. "When we called you that" continued Fred "We didn't mean for you to take it literally" they finished together. See? Real twins. Ginny and I could never do that.

I smiled "It will be nice to have some peace and quiet for a change."

Mora looked at me in surprise "You get even MORE quiet?"

The three of us laughed and I went downstairs to the dungeons with the first friends I had ever made who weren't related to me.

I got a nice letter from Mum before dinner was even over delivered to my room saying how proud they were of me and how they were not at all disappointed I was in Slytherin. I bet no one else in the family got a letter saying the family wasn't disappointed they were in Gryffindor.

I loved our rooms. Mora and I were together along with another girl named Pria. She was very nice but had an awful lot of makeup. It took up a whole trunk all its own. I didn't even care for lip gloss.

Mora, Esme Pria and I went downstairs to the common room after we finished unpacking to scope out the scene and find out if we were the only normal people or if everyone else was a rich snob.

It turned out not everyone was. A few were, but most were pretty nice.

Gemma, the Slytherin Prefect was very nice, she showed us around, explained the rules to us. Boys could in no way enter the girl's dorm, the staircase would prevent it. But girls could go in to the boy's dorm.

"That makes no sense" said Mora, "why would we be able to go to their rooms?"

"The Founders believed that girls were more trustworthy than boys. I guess they just trusted us not to want to."

"Why WOULD we want to?" asked Pria.

"awww… the ickle first year doesn't know why girls would want to go to boys rooms, isn't that adorable Drakey?" that grating voice could only belong to Pansy Parkinson. She was really beginning to annoy me.

Draco just shrugged. He clearly didn't care one way or the other what a first year girl wondered about. He just went up a notch in my opinion.

Not that I have an opinion about him.

Pria blushed and looked down. I took her hand and squeezed it. I hoped that was the right thing to do. It was what I did when Ginny was upset.

I guessed it was when she looked at me gratefully.

"Don't make me take points from my own house Pansy" warned Gemma "Slytherins don't eat their own."

Pansy rolled her eyes and stormed off.

Gemma is the best!

She then explained all about house points to us. How we earn them and how we lose them and about the House Cup.

Which led to an awful lot of complaining about the unfairness of the loss last year. I had heard it from the other side, but both sides were pretty set on their own version.

She then left us to ourselves. Mora and Pria went to watch James and Frank play chess; I curled up in a chair to read the financial papers. I was making lists of how each company had done over the last several months. Malfoy industries had done quite well. I wonder what they produced. I could ask Draco, but I knew I wouldn't.

Asking him would require talking to him. I was barely ready to talk to the people who went out of their way to be nice to me. He went out of his way to just ignore me. Actually come to think of it, in my world that almost qualified as being nice.

I looked up to see him watching me. I was surprised. He was taking care of his broom. I tilted my head questioningly at him.

"You really think the brush makes that much difference?" he asked. I was surprised he was talking to me at all. Clearly his father hadn't taught him the rules.

Weasleys and Malfoys do not mix. That is what my father said. I was starting to wonder why he said that. I think it had something to do with his job and some law that was passed maybe. I forget. Maybe a bunch of laws?

"Well, I admit, I don't know that much about quality Quidditch brooms" I said "but I do know what the Spudmore brother have said about them." He waved a hand for me to continue.

"The market is dominated primarily by the Nimbus Company." I motioned towards his broom "They use Mahogany and birch which is fine and well for speed. Even durability. The Spudmore Brothers believe that by using ebony, which is denser and heavier than mahogany, they can increase the durability by 15% and make it more maneuverable by 10% without having to make the stick thicker, which would increase wind drag. They also believe that the hazel wood will give their brooms an edge by allowing the brush to come to a much finer pinpoint precision increasing aerodynamics dramatically."

"Won't they be crazy expensive" I heard someone say. Looking around I was surprised to see I was virtually surrounded by the Slytherin Quidditch team. I wasn't nervous, it was hardly more than at family dinner, but I wasn't used to this many people being interested in what I had to say.

"Not because of the wood" I continued "but the metal bindings, oh yeah, if rumors are true those will be very expensive."

"Why is that?" asked a heavily muscular boy with gray eyes. Why did it seem like all the boys around me were acquiring gray eyes? Not that I was noticing.

"If rumors are to be believed they will be goblin made." A boy, I think I heard someone call him Miles whistled.

"That is going to take them right out of my price range." Miles said.

"The Nimbus was out of your price range" laughed another boy "but we got Malfoy's old man to thank for these babies" he patted his broom stick.

They all started shoving each other and acting just like stupid boys. Making jokes about how great it was that Draco wanted on the team bad enough to get his Dad to buy them brooms. But hey at least he can actually play.

They sounded just like my stupid brothers at home. They always think this stuff is funny. It never is but it doesn't stop them. It is just plain mean.

Draco watched me. I was not sure if he was looking for a reaction. Whatever he was expecting to find he didn't get. As usual I said nothing at all. I merely looked back at him.

His eyes might have been closer to silver.

Not that I noticed.


	4. The Potions Professor

**Chapter 4**

The next day we had potions. I couldn't wait. This was the one thing I had been able to study but not practice. Potion ingredients are expensive and I just couldn't take them from someone else.

We had double potions with Ravenclaw. Not bad, Ron was always complaining how they had potions with Slytherin so at least I wouldn't have to share with my siblings. Besides, I am in a year below, so that helps. He also seems to hate Professor Snape, but he is the head of my house and he doesn't seem bad.

Just really quiet. That made him better in my book. Of course to a Weasley that immediately makes anyone a suspect. If you aren't running around screaming and playing pranks or taming dragons you are just plain weird to them. Percy and I both drew that short stick. But at least he got Gryffindor according to the family that makes all the difference. Ginny has barely said two words to me since we got here.

I sat next to Mora. Frank sat with his buddy, a guy named Blaise, he is one of the rich guys, but he is pretty OK even if does hang out with Draco sometimes, and Esme sat with another of our group Pria. I really like Esme and Pria but they are a little giggly and I really want to focus.

I carefully watch Professor Snape as he walked to the front of the room with a flourish. The man has style. He can intimidate a room just by stepping in to it. I want to learn to do that. I swear I am practicing that cloak swish tonight!

He turned to the room and paused for effect "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the minds, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death… if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Quite theatrical. I enjoyed the show, but I hoped he did not say the exact same thing to all first years.

Professor Snape put us in pairs and I was put with a Ravenclaw named Maisy Reynolds. She was very quiet. I liked that about her. I smiled at her and she smiled shyly back and that was all we needed.

"Turn your books to page 45 and begin working with your partner to brew the potion to cure boils." Maisy immediately opened her book. I had no need and began measuring the exact amount of dried nettles. I was just working on crushing my snake fangs when Professor Snape stopped by my desk.

"Why have you disobeyed my instructions to open your text book to page 45 Miss Weasley?" he was clearly angry.

"I did not need to Professor Snape, sir. I know the measurements and instructions." I tried to put on my most innocent face. I don't think I did very well.

"Indeed. Then let us see shall we?" He crossed his arms and waited. Was he intending to watch me the entire time? Maisy looked terrified. I wasn't I knew this recipe. I knew them all. I just hadn't made one before.

I started handing ingredients to Maisy with specific instructions from the book on what to do with each. Her hands started shaking as she began to cut the porcupine quills in half. I reached out without looking and placed a hand on hers. "If you cut those wrong you will cause an explosion when we add them, I told her. She dropped the knife. I sighed and picked it up and finished, instructing her along the way as I did so.

"Now, we take the cauldron off the fire before we add the quills" I said just as we finished "because if we do not a green noxious acidic gas will arise strong enough to met iron cauldrons. Our cauldron is iron. It WILL melt." I showed her how to do it properly as we finished. I looked in the cauldron; it was the exact color the book said it should be.

I had forgotten Professor Snape was there until I looked up and saw him frowning. He did not look angry exactly, so I guessed it was OK but thought I better ask. "Did I do it correctly, sir?"

"It is textbook perfect Miss Weasley" was all he said before he turned away to check the other's cauldron's. No one had melted anything but there were some cauldrons that he sneered at before disintegrating the ingredients.

After class Professor Snape asked me to stay behind a few minutes. I was worried. I know my parents hate it when I show off. Maybe I should have just done this the way he said to…

When everyone left I looked at my feet "I am sorry I disobeyed you Professor I didn't meant to show off I…"

"Miss Weasley" he interrupted me "when I require an apology I will let you know." He seemed a lot less stern. Not exactly friendly but not angry. "When you were instructing Miss Reynolds, you were doing so by stating what the book said word for word. Why did you memorize that particular potion?"

I was confused "I did not sir. Not in particular. I know the whole book."

"Hmmm" was all he said before picking up the text book "what does it say on page 177 second paragraph third line?"

I thought for a second "stir counterclockwise three times add 3 grams of powdered eye of toad wait precisely 21 seconds and stir clockwise four times." I said adding "sir" belatedly.

He looked at me for a long time. "Have you had any practical experience making these potions Miss Weasley?"

I blushed "No sir, potion ingredients are expensive and…"

"I see." Was all he said.

I shifted from foot to foot waiting for him to dismiss me, but he just watched me for awhile.

"Do you often find you memorize things that you read Miss Weasley?"

I thought about it "I remember everything I read at least twice. I remember most things I read once."

"And what about conversations and other sounds or images? Do you recall those in perfect clarity?" he had tented his fingers and was looking at me over them.

"Generally, sir. It depends on how much is going on around me at the time. Lots of stuff happening and it makes things confusing." I was confused now by the entire conversation. Why did he want to know?

"And have you read and thus memorized all of the first year potion books Miss Weasley?"

Ahhh…. I really was in trouble. I was maybe not supposed to do that… "Ummm… yes sir…"

"And what about your other first year books?"

I didn't know how to answer I didn't want to lie but I didn't want to get in more trouble either. The look on my face must have given it away.

"I see" he said. "And do you have practical knowledge of your other courses?"

I just looked down. He sighed "Miss Weasley I assure you that you are not in any trouble. Please answer the question." He sounded almost nice. I looked up at him. His eyes were almost kind.

"Yes sir, but if anyone finds out my dad could get in big trouble at his job. I am not supposed to do school outside of school." I was horrified by my admission.

"Then if you knew this why did you?"

"I…" I really wanted to confide in him, I never had before told anyone how I felt, but this was Professor Snape and Ron said he was bad and evil. He didn't look bad or evil. "I don't always feel like I belong, sir. Not with my family. I don't look like them, I don't act like them and I just wanted something that was all mine. So I made a tree house in a willow tree and I would escape to it and repair their old books and…"

His eyes had got all soft when I said willow tree. In fact he looked less… pointy? The more I talked. Like he was someone I could really talk to. Like maybe he knew what it was like not to feel like you belong somewhere. I really think Ron is wrong about him.

"You may go Miss Weasley" he said quietly. Before I walked out he said "Appreciate your friends, it will be nice having a group you can relate to."

I smiled at him before heading out.

The others were waiting for me.

"How much trouble are you in" asked James. He was always worried that we would get ourselves in to trouble. He was the oldest of us by a year. He wasn't in our class but had come down to meet us and waited for me.

"I wasn't in trouble he just wanted to know how I could know all the instructions without opening the book." I told them.

"Yeah, that was pretty cool, How did you do that?" asked Frank.

I explained about how I just remember stuff I read, but I left out all the other stuff I told Professor Snape. They were all duly impressed and spent the rest of the day having me prove stuff by telling them what was on different pages of books in between classes. Fun times.

Our next class was transfigurations. I was pretty happy with this. Transfigurations are my specialty.

I was pretty disappointed that all Professor McGonagall wanted was a needle though. I made my needle with a quick word and flip of the wrist and waited for the others to be done. Professor McGonagall was surprised when she went by and held up my needle as an example to the others. I wanted to sink under my desk.

Why do all professors think you want to be singled out for attention? I have never wanted that once. Can't I just show up, do my work and go home?

Defense Against the Dark Arts was the worst of them all. That horrid man from Flourish and Blotts, the one who created the freak show with his book signing was there. Or at least he would have been there was a Prefect outside waiting to tell us it was cancelled today, something to do with Cornish pixies. But his face was on the door. How had I missed him at dinner?

I mean besides being worried about how I was the disappointment of the Weasley family and watching my brothers and sister all enjoy themselves without me.

A whole period free of class. I wanted to study but I was dragged outside for fresh air and sunshine by my so-called friends. I have no idea why they want to torment me with this sort of nonsense.

I want my nice dark tree house.


	5. Quidditch Expert? Me?

**Chapter 5**

The next day after breakfast Marcus, the Slytherin captain asked me to come down and watch their practice. He wanted my advice on aerodynamics. I kept telling him I am no expert but apparently I am the closest they have.

They are really screwed if that is the case.

We went down to the pitch but the Gryffindors were already there. Their captain came up and had an argument with Marcus over who had the right to the field.

Hermione and Ron, never ones to be left out of any drama remotely attached to one Harry Potter came rushing over.

Marcus pulled out a letter from Professor Snape saying they could use the field to train their new seeker.

"Why aren't you playing and what's _he_ doing here?" asked Ron.

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," said Malfoy, smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team. You see Weasley unlike _some_ , my father can afford the best."

While Ron gaped, openmouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of him I was horrified. Had he really just said that? But I knew the rules. It shouldn't have surprised or hurt me. I just stared at him for a long time unblinking then slowly turned and walked away. I did not hurry so I was still able to hear everything that went on behind me I was sorry I had.

"Good, aren't they?" said Malfoy smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."

The Slytherin team howled with laughter.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," said Hermione sharply. "They got in on pure talent."

I was nearly out of range when I heard his next comment.

"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat.

I heard later what Ron managed to do to himself with the slugs.

That day was the last time I would speak to Draco Malfoy for a very long time. He would speak to me on the odd occasion. I just never responded. He approached me later and said "Look Weasley, about earlier…"

I held up a hand "No, it is… well, my father explained it to me from the start. Weasleys and Malfoys don't mix. I… it is OK." I said nothing else. I just walked away.

Later that night in the common room we were all sitting around when Frank asked me "Why do your brothers call you "Little Snake" Alya?"

"I am named after the Theta Serpent constellation. They found that out and it has been Little Snake ever since. I am betting they are regretting that now."

"But you don't regret it do you?" Asked Pria, concerned.

I squeezed her hand. "No Pria, I don't regret it at all." She smiled at me.

Marcus pulled me aside and swore he would talk to Draco about never insulting my family in front of me again (not never again just not in front of me) if I would please help them get an edge on their opponents. They really wanted to win this stupid Quidditch Cup.

I wanted to use it as a chamber pot and dump it on a pale blonde head.

But I was busy not noticing him.

Another boy, one of Draco's crowd, Theo I think his name is, laughed and nudged Draco, "Hear that Draco, she is named after a constellation too. A serpent one. It's like you two are soul mates."

Pansy tried to glare the soul out of my body to prevent me from being anyone's soul mate. Then she sneered "Like a _Weasley_ would be Drakey's soul mate."

I ignored her entirely. She hates that.

Draco looked at me. I just watched Theo. He didn't seem a bad sort. I ignored Draco completely. Theo looked at me "Hey, that was a joke. It IS alright to laugh down here."

I patted him on the arm as I walked past "A joke huh? Good one." I went to my room.

My friends joined me. We spent the night enjoying ourselves. Mora had got a huge care package full of sweets and we ate it while they gossiped about the current love affairs of the rest of the house.

I begrudgingly read all of the stupid Quidditch books I had checked out of the library and paid attention to their blasted brooms. Sticks brushes materials points and ruddy metal bindings.

The next day I was surprised to be called into a classroom by Professor Snape. There was a table of potions ingredients laid out. "Miss Weasley" He greeted me.

"Professor Snape…?" I started uncertainly.

"I would like you to use these ingredients to brew a potion of forgetfulness."

I didn't fully understand but I did as he requested. He took the vial I created and left.

Professor McGonagall came in. She asked me to turn a mouse in to a matchbox. I was even more confused but I did so.

This went on all day.

Questions from Professor Binn about history.

I performed mending spells for Professor Flitwick.

I properly identified seven creatures from descriptions alone and cast the Periculum spell for Professor Lockhart.

In muggle studies I identified their two main modes of transportation by ground, train and automobile.

I missed all of my classes, but since my professors kept coming to me, how much trouble could I be in?

The last one who came in was Professor Dumbledore.

"Hello Miss Weasley" he smiled at me "How are you settling in to your House?

"Very well, sir." I was a little intimidated.

"Good, good. Making friends?" he sat down at one of the chairs, I had to admit he was far less intimidating this way.

"Yes sir. I have made a few friends."

"And how are you finding your House Head?" Odd question.

"Professor Snape? He has been very kind to me sir. He… listens really well." I was sort of embarrassed to say this.

Professor Dumbledore smiled "I have always found that to be the case. It is too bad more people don't recognize that trait in him."

"I don't think he would like that very much, sir." Not sure how I knew that but I knew he would hate it.

Professor Dumbledore just laughed "I expect you are quite correct young lady. Now, to the reason for the day's activities."

"I had been wondering about them Professor…?" More than just wondering this had been the strangest day of my short scholastic career. OK that had only been a few days now, but it must still qualify as pretty darned strange, right?

"All of the lessons you were given today are the final lessons in every first year class. Your professors feel it would be in your best interest to move you in to the next year."

I was surprised, I had never heard of this before. "Can… can you just do that?"

He laughed "You would be surprised at the powers of a headmaster. For instance, I can get all of the sweets I wish delivered to me right to my office." My eyes grew round. I would love that power! "But yes, with your parent's consent I certainly can. But you have to promise to learn at the rate your instructors set where you can. No memorizing every book in three days." He winked at me.

"I can do that Professor. Or at least I can try." I frowned a bit worried.

"You know the library has books other than text books Miss Weasley, you might try reading some of those. Or when you need to occupy your mind you might try finding a hobby. For instance I listen to chamber music and have taken up ten pin bowling."

I literally could not tell if he was joking. I tried to picture him running down a lane with his beard flying behind him.

My parents were overjoyed. Finally it looked like I had made them proud in something.

I hated that I would not be in class with Mora, Esme, Pria or Frank, but I would get to take classes with James so he would not feel left out. That was nice.

The others were not surprised. "You are even smarter than that Granger girl in Gryffindor, Alya" said Esme, "You just don't get credit here for it because you are in Slytherin. We are looked down on because they think all dark wizards come from here. But they never remember that Merlin came from here too."

Mora and Pria immediately agreed with her. They are the best.

I wasn't sure about being smarter than Hermione, they would have done the same for her I am certain if she hadn't been muggleborn and didn't need more just plain wizard experience, but it was nice of them to say so. These people had very quickly become my best friends and they didn't seem to need me to be talking all the time. They were OK with my silence.

I started my new year the next day. Since I did not have time to shopping to get everything I needed the school provided me with supplies for the whole year. I was glad there was no way my parents could have done that.

I forgot it would put me in close contact with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

And ugh, Pansy.

And of course Draco.

Not that I noticed.


	6. The Things I Learned in Year Two

**Chapter 6**

That whole first year for me, or second year if you think about it was full of revelations. I learned I could survive being different outside of my home as well as in it. I learned that even rich people have the same problems most of us do. Galleons can't buy your way out of a bad mark on a History of Magic test.

I learned about Quidditch. Under strict protest and entirely against my will. I studied every book on the subject. I studied the magical theory of broom design. I got the boys on the team to bring me a couple of old beat up brooms and I started working on them. I clipped a little here and a little there, never much at a time, until I had improved their speed and maneuverability. No way was I planning to touch a Nimbus 2001. Not for any reason. But if the boys trusted what I was doing enough, by Merlin's beard they could clip their own brooms.

Draco was the first to try it. Just a little at first. I think he was trying to get me to talk to him again. He never bad mouthed my family in front of me again. He never understood that I wasn't angry about it. Not really. I was hurt, which was stupid, we weren't even friends. We had only ever spoken twice. No reason for him to care about my feelings or for me to have any feelings about his opinion of my family. It was just the way of the world. At eleven years old no matter how much he embarrassed me, my father knew everything as far as I was concerned and if he said I should not be able to get along with Draco Malfoy, well, then I probably just couldn't. Like a natural law or something.

Draco took to timing his turns and how close he could cut them and when he saw improvements from just a few clippings he pronounced me the Queen of Slytherin. The only reason I liked it is because of how furious it made Pansy. At least that was what I told myself. It was a silly title, but the older Slytherins picked it up and it stuck.

And I learned how to make money. Not a lot of it at first, but enough.

I wanted to invest in those orchards. More than in my whole eleven years I had ever wanted anything. I knew that it would not be easy because I had to find a way to Gringotts and put the money in the account my parents had opened for me as a baby (they opened one for each of us and we were expected to put any money earned in to it) and then convince the Goblins to invest for me when I did not have a lot of money, but I was determined.

I also learned why Ginny was avoiding me, but more on that later.

The money part happened just after just after our incredible 260-40 defeat of Ravenclaw. The boys declared I was the reason they had won slung me on their shoulders and marched me off the field making up a silly song about Weasley is our Queen.

It was rather gratifying to see the looks on all of my brother's faces when this happened. I was not known as the Quidditch lover in the house. I was certainly not known for being carted around by boys and serenaded. They looked at me like I was a rank traitor. Good. They have left me out and made me feel abandoned by my own family here; they can just stew on my new Slytherin brothers. I patted Marcus on the shoulder as we marched past Fred and George winking at them.

Heading back to the dorms I noticed a flyer up that said "1 galleon reward for return of lost necklace, no questions asked." It had been posted by a Ravenclaw girl, Leslie Winkle. I knew the name but was not familiar with her personally. The flyer had a picture of her wearing the necklace. I was determined to be the one to find that necklace!

I walked around searching all the places where a necklace could be when I came in to a corridor I had never been in before. At the end was a large ornate door. I could not help sneaking a peek inside.

The room was filled with all manner of trinkets. I began poking and prodding around. A lot of the stuff in here was really valuable, but I am no thief.

As I was leaving, across a rolled up rug I saw the necklace from the flyer lying there. I was a little stunned and confused at first. It could not really be the same necklace could it? But it sure looked like it. It was a pretty gold necklace with an engraved picture of a woman on a locket.

Later I went and found Leslie "Is this the necklace you were looking for Miss Winkle?"

I was shocked when she threw her arms around me in a hug. "Oh you are SUCH a dear! I can never repay you" she pressed a gold galleon in my hand "this necklace was my mother's" a tear slipped down her cheek "and now it has a bit of her ashes in it. I was heartbroken without it!"

Ashes? I had been carrying around a dead woman? Or part of one, which was probably worse? I smiled tightly at Leslie "I am glad I could find it for you. It was in an empty classroom laying over a rolled up rug" only a partial lie "probably a prank."

"Still I can't thank you enough." She went off smiling.

And so began my career as a finder of lost things. As soon as people found out about Leslie's necklace, a couple of more people approached me. After searching I learned pretty quickly that if I just went to the fourth floor and in to that room the item would be there. I assumed someone was storing lost items they found there. It sort of felt like cheating, but no one else was complaining. By the start of the holidays I had 10 galleons saved! People knew I was expensive but worth it. I always found the item.

And of course if anything goes really well for me something has to mess it up. In this case it was some ancient creeping horror that was attacking people. Well, a cat and a boy and a ghost, but still… and writing creepy stuff on walls in what looked like blood.

This was seriously bad for business. If it kept up no one would go anywhere long enough to lose anything.

No losses no need for a finder.

No need for a finder no need to PAY a finder.

I also learned that memorizing things was not the same as learning.

Naturally, Professor Snape taught me that after a potions lesson.

"Stay a moment if you please Miss Weasley." He asked one day after class.

Unlike the first time I wasn't nervous at all. I had hoped he might find time to mentor me further. Or even just maybe listen. I was surprised to find out I actually wanted to speak to him.

"How do you feel your studies are going Miss Weasley?" he sat down behind his desk motioning for me to sit as well.

"Very well Professor. I rarely have to spend much time studying which leaves more time for practice."

"hmmm…" he said in a way that did not seem like he was proud of my accomplishment in this. "This may well make you in to a mediocre witch when you could be a great one."

I was confused; and a little hurt "But Professor… everyone else tells me how well I am doing…"

"You are doing exceedingly well, at mimicry." He pulled out a picture from a drawer. "See this image?"

I watched the picture of a quidditch player circling a field. I was a little surprised to see it was Draco, but I said nothing, I only nodded.

"This picture mimics what happened that day very well. But it cannot change or grow. It will never be greater or lesser than what it is. It will, in a word, remain mediocre." He watched for my reaction.

I was stunned. I understood now what he was getting at. "I think I understand Professor."

He nodded. "I have a suggestion, if you are willing to hear it."

I smiled "Yes, I would really like that Professor."

"You need to start learning subjects and taking part in events that cannot be learned through memorization. We have a dueling club starting. You cannot memorize this. You must learn to adapt and adjust to your opponent's moves."

"I don't know anything at all about dueling Professor, would they even let me in the club?" I was feeling a little insecure about this.

"It is for beginners and I am certain you will do fine. I will help tutor you and I am certain my godson and his friends will be more than willing to assist you."

I nodded "Alright then. I will do it!"

"Good" he said walking me to the door "we will find other lessons that interest you as well."

I was rather surprised later to learn his godson was none other than Draco Malfoy. The two friends were Blaise and Theo.

Over the next few weeks we practiced in the dungeons. I never spoke a word to Draco, but I became very fond of Theo and Blaise. I always called people Mr. or Miss it was a habit I picked up when I learned it annoyed a few of my brother's friends, but with these two we quickly graduated to first names.

After we had our dueling lessons the boys always walked me back to the dorms. They teased me, but in a friendly way. In some ways they reminded me of Fred and George.

They talked to Draco as well, and he to them, but Draco and I never spoke to one another.

Blaise asked me about it one day "Are you still holding a grudge over that comment he made about having a rich father? He was just trying to get a rise out of your brother."

I thought about it for awhile "No, not really. I mean, it doesn't make me happy that he said it, but I am not mad."

"Then what is it? Because I know he has tried to talk to you, and you just don't say anything."

"If you hadn't noticed Blaise, I am like that with most people."

"We noticed, but we were hoping to change your mind about Draco."

"Why? What difference does it make?"

"He doesn't have many friends and you are a good one to have."

"Thanks Blaise, but it just wouldn't work. Malfoys and Weasleys don't mix. There is no point in getting to know someone who is just going to tell me later he isn't interested in being friendly with someone like me."

He frowned at that but let it go.

I was looking forward to our first dueling matches. I had practiced hard.

But I never got the chance. They put Harry and Draco against each other. I think Professor Snape did that on purpose, he really did not like Harry, and then Draco summoned that stupid snake. When Harry started talking to it that pretty much ended the duel.

Everyone was sure he had set it on Justin. I wasn't so sure, but I didn't offer an opinion about it.

After that people were terrified of Harry. I guess he found his own magic power for keeping unwanted people away.


	7. The Holidays

**Chapter 7**

I spent the holidays with my family. Ron had decided to stay behind with Harry. That was rather nice I suppose, but Harry could have probably come to the burrow for Christmas. The rest of us went to Diagon Alley for Christmas shopping and to watch them light the tree with fairy lights.

We stopped by Gringotts first like always, but this time I had a plan. "Mum" I asked "I know you asked what we wanted for Christmas, but I really only want one thing this ear. Besides your sweater of course" I hurriedly added "I want a private lesson from a Goblin on investing."

She looked at me oddly then looked at my father who shrugged "I knew you had been reading all of those books, love, but I had not realized how serious you were about it. Ohhhh" my mother beamed at me and squeezed my cheeks "I am so proud of how responsible you are becoming with your money. Not like your brothers at all!" I knew she would eat this up. "We get a free consultation with our account, so I am sure we can manage both presents and a lesson. When would you like to do this?"

I pretended to think about it "Well, the investors will be out more heavily after the holidays and it will be harder to get an appointment. Right now, will be the best time, but if I did that I may miss a bit of the shopping…" I pretended to look very torn about this.

"Oh pish, we can always do the shopping for you and your sister while you have a meeting. Oh a meeting about finances for my grown up baby!" she squeezed me again. I suffered silently. I knew the road to riches would not be painless.

At Gringotts I waited in a chair bouncing my leg for my advisor to arrive. He did introducing himself as Stickwick. We went in to a small back office.

"Your parents said you wished to learn about investing Miss Weasley?" he asked gruffly.

"Is our conversation confidential Mr. Stickwick?" I asked.

He looked mildly interested raising an eyebrow "Yes, anything you say about finances stays in this room."

I pulled out my small sack of coins. "I would like to purchase two shares of the Spudmore Hazel Groves please." The shares were four and a half galleons each. That meant I could pay for the shares and the fee for investing with my ten galleons and have some money left over for shopping. A nice little sum when I pulled out some sickles of my own. I had 15 sickles altogether, almost another galleon!

He nodded his head towards me, wrote me the receipt and logged my shares.

This was it. My fortune was now tied to the Spudmore's fortune. If they were wrong about the demand for these new brooms, if the goblins walked out, if there was a fire that destroyed the orchards or any number of horror stories that could happen I would be wiped out.

It was exciting!

I met back up with my parents who were excited to see the Christmas tree lighting. We picked up hot buttered beer on the way and it was really nice.

While at the tree, we happened to stand close to Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy looked down at me and smiled "Miss Weasley. It seems we have met again after all."

"Good evening Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy. Happy Christmas." I smiled brightly up at Mr. Malfoy. His business sense was legendary. That made him practically a hero to me. I missed the frowns my family was exchanging.

"I heard from Draco that you were sorted in to Slytherin. Congratulations. Slytherin is very lucky to have such a talented young witch in their house." This came from Mrs. Malfoy. She looked so glamorous and pretty standing there. Like she was right off the front pages of Witch Weekly, at eleven this impressed me greatly.

"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy, you are very kind to say so."

Mr. Malfoy looked down at me playfully "Have you given anymore thought to that investment we were talking about?"

"Oh yes sir!" I exclaimed enthusiastically. "In fact, the boys on the team were so certain it made me a Quidditch expert that I had no choice but to learn all about the sport just to prove them right."

He and I talked for a bit about Slytherin's chances for taking the house cup and my experiments with the old brooms. I did NOT tell him that Draco was clipping his own broom, I am no rat!

"It sounds like you are becoming an expert against your will Miss Weasley."

We both laughed and then the Malfoys left to meet with their friends. I smiled happily after them.

"Alya…" my father began "how exactly are you acquainted with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy?" he did not look pleased.

"I only met Mrs. Malfoy tonight Dad. I met Mr. Malfoy at the book store before the school year."

This did not seem to satisfy him "And how do you now know each other well enough to have little personal inside jokes?" I could tell he was getting angry. I was starting to think the problem was not with the Malfoys…

"We had a conversation about brooms Dad and what I would invest in if I had the money since he saw the investing book I was reading."

"This obsession with money! That is where this started! I forbid you to continue researching any more investment tips or to speak to that man and woman again."

"Arthur…." Mother said quietly.

"No Molly, I will not have her looking at that man with hero worship in her eyes, I am putting my foot down!"

I said nothing. I made my face as blank as I could. I turned towards the tree. I now knew why Weasleys and Malfoys did not mix. We are arseholes.

My mother put an arm around me. I did not relax in to her embrace. I never looked at her. I did not speak another word the rest of the night. When we got home I went straight to my room. When my mother came in with a tray of food she tried to explain my father's actions. I just stared straight ahead. I did not care that they voted differently than each other about some stupid laws that didn't even matter to me.

"He was a supporter of You Know Who" my mother whispered fearfully.

Whatever. I read those old history stories. He was under the imperius curse. You can't hold someone responsible for stuff they did when they were cursed. I still said nothing. They could talk at me all they wanted.

Later I went downstairs to get something to eat when I heard my parents arguing.

"Was our Christmas outing really the place to confront Alya, Arthur?" when my mother asked a question in that tone she was NOT asking.

"First Slytherin and now the Malfoys, and this never ending obsession with wealth and material possessions. Do you want me to wait until she is worshipping Death Eaters?"

I gasped loudly causing both of my parents to turn around and stare at me in horror.

"Alya…." Mum said "you shouldn't have heard that. Your father didn't mean it. He is just upset. The Malfoys are…"

For the first time ever I wanted to say something back. "I want to go back to school."

I turned around went back to my room and packed my belongings. I sent our owl Errol to Professor Snape to ask if he could arrange it with the Headmaster.

As I was writing my letter and attaching it to Errol both of my parents came in to the room. "Alya…" my father started "I am sorry, I didn't mean any of that. We are very proud of you. It doesn't matter what house you are in."

I just put my hands on the window and watched Errol fly off.

They finally left. A little while later Percy came in and sat on the edge of the bed with me. Percy always understood me best. We both liked to be left alone to do our own thing and read. I would sometimes talk to him when I wouldn't talk to anyone else.

"Hey" he said "are you OK?"

I just looked down. "I don't want to be here anymore Percy. They are ashamed of me. I don't belong here."

He sighed "I know what that feels like Alya.."

"No you don't Perce," I whispered "you look like them; you are in the same house as all of them. Did they ever send you a letter saying they were proud of you and it didn't matter if you were in Gryffindor?"

He looked at me sharply "Our parents did that?"

I nodded.

"I am so sorry Alya. I didn't know." I shrugged. "If you really want to go back to school I will take you."

"I really do Percy. Please?"

He nodded "I will go tell them. I will take you back in the morning if the school OK's it."

"Professor Snape will. He understands how I feel." Percy sighed.

I could hear him later shouting at my parents. I could not catch all of it, but I could tell it was about the letter. I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to go back to school where my friends were and where people cared about me.

The next day I got a personal letter from Professor Snape saying that of course I was welcome back at any time if I truly wished to come, and did I need him to come and pick me up or would I be alright to get t school on my own.

I showed the letter to Percy. "Hmm.." he said with wonder "I guess you were right about Professor Snape, he certainly does seem to act different with the people in his house. We always suspected he played…. better with those who were in Slytherin."

I knew my mother was upset that I wanted to leave so early, but whatever. She had Bill and Percy and even Charlie had come home from Romania. They were both disappointed I was leaving so soon. Or so they said. I always get the feeling that they are all a little relieved when I am not around. Like when they were all so happy in the dining hall after the sorting. Would they have been as happy with weird quiet me sitting there? I wondered. They tell me that isn't true, but I know they want to be around people more like them. Doesn't everyone?

I did not say good bye, I just left with Percy. He floo'd with me to Hogsmeade. It was really neat. I couldn't officially go there alone until I was in third year, or next year I guess for me, but Percy took me around.

I forgot I had some of the money still from my Gringotts account. I had not gone shopping that night after all, so it was just waiting for me. He took me to a place called Honeydukes and I bought treats for all of my friends, including a special gift for someone I owe an apology to.

Pria was happy to see me when I got back, her parents are visiting family in India, and they don't really celebrate Christmas, so this is nothing but an excuse to blow off school for her.

On Christmas Eve those of us who had stayed behind, Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, I and a few others were sitting in the common room. They were enjoying the sweets I brought back and I was reading a book.

Pretty soon I looked up and only Draco and I were left. I noticed he was watching me again. I sighed and stood up and handed him a box. He looked at it suspiciously "What is this for?" I could tell he wasn't really asking me since he didn't expect a response. Inside were two sugar quills and some sugar parchment. Since he liked to study.

"It is an apology" I said looking into his eyes. I forgot how very gray they were.

He looked startled "An apology for what exactly?"

"I have been an arse. And apparently so has my family. I am sorry for whatever my idiot brother did to make you want to torment him. I am sure he has it coming."

He shrugged "It doesn't matter."

"Then he did do something. It figures." I just shook my head. I was very disappointed in my whole family. How can they look down their nose at others if they are going to be so mean to people.

"Why did you come back?" he asked suddenly.

"I…" I hesitated.

"Never mind, it isn't any of my business." He looked embarrassed at having asked.

"You may have noticed I don't look much like my family…"

"I may have even mentioned it once." He smiled. He was teasing me? We both smiled.

"Well, I don't act like them either. I am too quiet for them and I like to read." I shrugged.

He nodded "I have noticed." He noticed? My heart started racing again like someone had clipped its brush!

He said that he noticed like it was a good thing. "And then I got sorted in to Slytherin and my mother sent me this letter saying it didn't matter, she was proud of me anyway."

"Wow." He understood. Of course he did, I bet he could imagine what his father would say if he were in Hufflepuff.

"Yeah… anyway, we went to watch the Christmas tree being lit and your parents were there…" he looked up at this his eyes narrowing slightly "and your father said hello, and then your mother was nice to me. And then, I don't know, your father and I started talking Quidditch, or mostly brooms I guess. After they left my father got all angry and told me never to speak to them again. Then later I heard them arguing and he asked my mother did they want to wait for me to start worshipping Death Eaters."

He looked really upset by this, I tried the thing I do with Pria and Ginny and I took his hand "I know your father was imperio'd and it wasn't his fault. Anyway, that was when I got angry and left."

He looked at where I held his hand and he seemed confused but he didn't pull away. Hopefully I did it right. "Does this mean we are friends again?" he asked.

I didn't know we had been friends, but I was happy he thought so. "Yes, Draco, we are friends again.


	8. Elementary My Dear Alya

**Chapter 8**

I was glad that Draco and I had settled our differences, the Slytherins became like a second family to me. Especially around the holidays. I knew I would not be going home for any other vacations that year.

I liked staying in the Slytherin Common room. It wasn't what you thought about when you thought "dungeon". It was elegant and clean. Everything was black and silver and right out of a gothic castle. Literally, none of that fake knock off stuff. Our beds were huge with curtains thathad silencing charms that kept out the noise of people snoring. By now I knew what other noises it could keep out. Some of the older girls had gone in to great detail. By the blush on Pansy's cheeks I could tell she had not known before now either. Little fibber!

Most of the Slytherins were really nice to me. Our group of six were always together and we had a really good time exploring the rest of the dungeons.

And they were real dungeons too. We sometimes forget that before it was a school it was a castle that housed… well… someone… before it became a school. And not a very nice some either from what I could tell since it has these dungeons. Our rooms are nice and comfortable, but anyone can see where there are places in the wall where manacles are meant to go.

And the jail cells are great fun. Behind them are these hidden passages where there are peep holes at eye level so you can see inside the jail cells. Maybe so the jailors could spy on and listen to what the prisoners were saying?

Anyway these passages went everywhere! And while the rest of the castle shifts and swivels these passages stay pretty set on course. Frank and James were the best artists among us so they started drawing out maps of where all of these passages went. You never knew when they would be handy. We now had a very fast way to get to our classes if nothing else! We did spend a fair bit of time clearing out spider webs though. Not many spiders, which I thought was odd since a lot of these webs looked fresh, but it did take up several weekends. I don't have an extreme fear of spiders like Ron does but they aren't my favorite.

All of these adventures had really bonded us as a group. James and I were the closest out of the group, being the only two in the same grade. We studied together in the library a lot. Sometimes Draco joined us. James was a little surprised at first, but he accepted him. Draco usually only joined us when his friends weren't around. I think he knew I was not a big fan of theirs. I did like Theo and Blaise, but they were not really study buddies, Theo was too quiet and Blaise got bored too easily. And Pansy with her "Drakey" drove me bats.

We spent our time quite comfortably this way, in spite of the attacks, the six of us, exploring and studying until spring break. I got several letters requesting, pleading and then even demanding I come home. But nothing doing. I was staying at school. My name was on the list and unless they were willing to come here and bodily drag me from the grounds I was not leaving. I had no choice but to go in the summer, and I guess if the rumors were true that if the attacks continued and the school got closed I would have to go then, but until those extreme examples I would stay where I was.

It wasn't like anyone really wanted me there anyway. Ginny never spoke to me anymore. Ron acted like I didn't exist; it was all Harry and Hermione for him. Percy tried to talk to me but he was so busy with his studies and Prefect duties it wasn't practical and Fred and George, well it always had just been the two of them.

Finally they gave up and Mum sent a letter saying I could stay at school with my friends if I wanted to.

Thanks Mum, I hadn't been asking permission, but nice to know I have your cooperation.

In other areas things were going OK. I was still able to run my small business. I had managed to buy three more shares of Spudmore Bro.s Hazel Groves, I got a letter saying my tenth share would be free, so I was pretty excited for that. I really put the spurs to it after that and started actually advertising and putting up flyers around the school.

As it turned out, I actually got pretty good at really finding things too. Even before they showed up in the storage room. I only used it for really stubborn cases now. Cases. Like a real detective! I was starting to really feel like one too! It was a matter of finding out the person's habits really. People didn't lose things really, they usually just left them someplace. And as people are creatures of habit it was a matter of eliminating the impossible and anything left, no matter how improbable was the answer. (Pretty fancy, huh? I had started reading this series of muggle detective stories Sherlock Holmes, I actually learned a lot from those books I bet he was a secret wizard).

People wanted me to start doing other things for them. Things I was less comfortable with. Alicia Spinnet, a Gryffindor Quidditch player wanted me to spy on her boyfriend Lee Jordan to see if he was cheating on her when he said he was out with his buddies. Patricia Stimpson wanted me to spy on her friends and see if they were saying mean things behind her back, a real mental case that one, way too wound up.

But the pay was good, and who was I to turn down honest work?

Lee was not cheating, Patricia's friends all thought the same thing I did, that she was mental. No one gave me up as their source because they wanted to keep using my services. After expanding my services I had the last four shares I needed to get my free one in no time. I was averaging a galleon a week. It was exhausting work on top of my studies but worth it. Most could only afford a few knuts here and there, but the wealthier kids really ponied up for the information they wanted. It let me take on more charitable cases. James helped me with searching but I kept him out of my sleazier dealings.

I think Draco was starting to suspect something though. He and I were two of the only three Slytherin's to stay behind for spring break. The other was a sixth year who didn't bother with us. I kept a ledger of people who owed me and how much, this was for the people who owed me to remember, they had to initial it, I had perfect recall, I was looking this over one day when he sat across from me in the common room.

"So Althea and Thomas are on the outs" he said casually.

Ah yes, Thomas was one of my latest clients. Althea had been going around with several other boys, one from each house, quite the collection she had taken up.

"Why Mr. Malfoy, I had not taken you for a gossip." Deflect, deflect, deflect. I learned that from my dear Mr. Holmes as well.

"Why do you call me Mr. Malfoy?" Not the deflection I was going for but I would take it.

"A habit I suppose, why?"

"You call Blaise and Theo and your little gang by their first names, but you call others Mr. or Miss so and so." I could tell he was really bothered by this.

"People start using first names too soon. Too easy. It… I can't explain… It is like everyone just expects that someone wants you for their friend. It is rude." At eleven I did not have the vocabulary yet to explain formal versus casual relationships. I knew what I meant but was incapable of fully expressing it.

"You have terrible self esteem" he said angrily.

"Excuse me?" I wasn't offended, not really, just surprised.

"Why do you always think no one wants anything to do with you? Why do you believe no one wants to be your friend? And where did you get this stupid idea Malfoys and Weasleys don't mix? That is really why you won't call me by my first name isn't it?" Well, at least we were no longer talking about Althea and Thomas…

"It isn't a thought I have, it is backed by years of solid evidence. Even my own twin wants nothing to do with me since I got sorted in to Slytherin. And I got in here because I am different. I don't usually speak this much to people." I wondered why he and his father had the ability to get me talking.

As though he were reading my mind he said "Yeah, that is what you told my Dad. But you talked to him, even though it got you in trouble. And I bet you came home because you stuck up for him and you got in a fight over it am I right?" I just lowered my head blushing. "And now you talk to me, but you won't even call me by my first name. You did once, when you said we were friends, but then you just stopped again. Why?"

"I am not sure if I can explain…" I meant that literally. I did not know if I knew how.

"Try." I could see he was not going to let this go.

"When I was a little girl I heard my parents talking about your father in the kitchen one morning over breakfast. Ginny and I must have been about six or seven. There was some kind of legislation coming out about… muggle devices maybe, probably; my dad has always had a thing about them. Probably it was one about automobiles since I think it was about that time when the Ministry started using them. Anyway, my mum suggested that he talk to your Dad and work something out so that everyone would be happy about the results. My Dad said a lot of words that I did not catch because mum cast a silencing charm on him. When she released it he said there was no way that would happen. That Malfoys and Weasleys don't mix. That your dad was a supporter of You Know Who and a Death Eater and no way was he going to work it out with him." I sat back, waiting for his reaction.

"If you knew my Dad was a Death Eater, why weren't you afraid of him in the book store?" he looked kind of sad.

"My mum said that your father said he was under the Imperio curse and the Ministry believed him and that was that. I didn't understand everything at the time, but later I was about 8 when I started reading the history books, I learned what all of that was about. And if your dad was under the Imperio it wasn't his fault. So no one can blame him." Too bad for me Draco was quicker to pick up on things than most.

"You said 'if'."

"hmmm?"

"You said 'if he was under the Imperio' what if he wasn't" he asked quietly. "What if he did all of that of his own free will?"

I did the only thing I could think of. I sat next to him and took his hand "Then your father made a terrible mistake. He made some sketchy choices for his own selfish reasons. But I assume he has been a pretty good father?"

Draco looked down at our hands. He always does that whenever I hold his hand, like he is trying to figure something out "Yeah. He is a good dad. He doesn't hit me pr my mom like some of my friend's dads do, he takes the time to explain things to me. He expects a lot out of me but he is pretty good mostly."

"Then that is the stuff you need to think about. Whether someone cares about you not sketchy stuff they may have done in the past." I squeezed his hand before letting it go

"Sketchy things like spying on Althea and reporting back to Thomas for pay?" damned, deflection failed.

"Very observant, Dr. Watson." He looked at me confused.

I waved a hand dismissively "Never mind. Goodnight…. Draco."

"First names now then?" he smiled at me and my tummy did that weird thing again.

"Well, we are friends aren't we?" I tried hard to control my blushing.

"Yes, Alya, we are friends." His cheeks were a light pink as well. Damned. I noticed.


	9. Born a Snake

**Chapter 9**

Draco and I did not make any big changes in how we acted after that, but I guess you could say we were friends. We talked at the dining table. We laughed more together. And when it annoyed Pansy we laughed about that too. I didn't really talk like I did when we were at home, but I didn't shut him down when he talked to me the way I sometimes do with other people. I really liked that he knew the difference.

The biggest thing we had going for our friendship was Quidditch. I still helped the team. Not so much in broom maintenance now. They figured out the dynamics and were able to treat their own brooms with more care to get the best out of them so they didn't really need me. What they needed me for was my ability to remember every single play the teams made and help set up their miniature Quidditch set so that Flint could study it made me valuable to them in a whole new way. I could also recall what the announcers had said so I could fully recreate the experience.

My boys and I spent hours like this. At every other House's game one of them would take me up, usually Draco unless Flint wanted me to see it from a different player's perspective, and I would watch. I never really grew to _like_ the game exactly, but I understood it better than the fans did for sure.

It was gratifying to see my gift for memory being used for more than shopping lists, finding things and cheap parlor tricks. I felt useful. To more than just myself that is. My Gringotts account had certainly grown by a modest amount. My ten initial galleons had turned to thirty, which I promptly reinvested, accompanied by another lovely letter from the Spudmore brothers. When they found out their letters were going to Hogwarts they assumed I was a teacher and started addressing it to "Professor Alya Weasley" I saw no reason to correct them. It didn't really matter to me. This letter was from Randolph Spudmore, it turns out he had taken over the company. He offered to let me start investing in the goblin ironworks as I was an early investor of the hazel groves. This would be much pricier, ten galleons a share, more than twice the initial investment, but worth it if they paid off. I sold my shares of the hazel groves and purchased three shares of the iron works. The whole time worried that those blasted goblins would go on strike again. They had better not! I would be completely wiped if they did!

But back to Quidditch. My stupid brother cost me my first detention over the game and his big stupid mouth. Draco and I were just flying back down after watching Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw. It was a good game as far as games go. Harry caught the snitch in a timely if not flashy manner. Watching from our vantage point I think he caught it because the Ravenclaw seeker, Cho was too busy watching something else.

When Draco set us down he turned to me "What did you think of Potter's strategy this game?"

I pulled off the extra pair of his gloves he had loaned me "I don't think it would work for you."

He frowned "Why not? I can do anything Potter can do."

I smiled at him teasingly "Oh? Can you get Harry to watch you instead of the snitch all game?"

We both laughed and he threw his arm around my shoulders "I don't know Weasley, I did buy a new brand of hair gel." Neither of us had noticed that Harry, Ron and Hermione along with the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team were behind us. Flint and a few of our boys had come out to meet us as usual.

I heard Ron's voice behind me "You sure never bothered to sit your prissy ass on a broomstick to help your own brothers out in a Quidditch match. I guess Fred and George were right, you have been a snake from birth."

Even Harry and Hermione seemed shocked by Ron's sneering comment.

Flint, Miles and Draco froze. I knew they wouldn't stay that way for long. Sooner or later they would react. It would likely be sooner rather than later. Fred and George told Ron he was bang out of line.

As usual I said nothing. This time unlike my normal manner of just staring at someone until they grew uncomfortable enough to leave I reacted. Marching over to Ron I pulled my fist back and punched him hard enough in the nose to hear bones crack.

In shock Ron grabbed his face as blood poured out from between his fingers. Behind me I could hear Flint bark out a laugh. I turned to see James, Frank Esme and Mora had also joined us. James looked slightly disappointed but the other three were grinning at me.

"What is going on here?" Madame Hooch. That was it. I was done for. I looked up and it was even worse. Professor Snape stood next to her just staring down at me. His look was unreadable. I stared at the ground.

Everyone started talking at once. The Gryffindors condemned me at once, all except Fred and George who said nothing and surprisingly Harry Potter and the Slytherins who defended me. I said nothing, I just stared at the ground.

"QUIET!" shouted Professor Snape. "Miss Weasley step forward." I did so unhappily. "Did you in fact strike Mr. Weasley with enough force to break his nose?"

Still looking at the ground I said "Yes Professor."

"You will look me in the eye when addressing me. Do you have anything to say in your defense?" He asked sternly.

I knew he wanted me to defend myself. But I would not I would as always accept whatever punishment my actions brought upon me "No Professor. I do not."

"Very well. You will spend one month in detention with me. You are also banned from the Quidditch pitch for the remainder of the year." He turned to leave while the Slytherin team shouted how unfair and unreasonable he was being.

Draco just watched me sadly. He reached out like I always did for him and took my hand. Ron just sneered through his bloodied and broken nose. "No matter how much of hith arthe you kith he will alwayth thee you as a low life blood traitor, ath beneath him Alya. Enjoy being a Malfoy pet. While it latht."

Madame Hooch gasped "Detention Mr. Weasley. The same as your sister. I think it is clear you antagonized her into striking you. Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, please see Mr. Weasley to the hospital wing."

After they left Madame Hooch approached me and took my hand turning it over to look at my knuckles. "I think these will heal on their own but they should still be cleaned up and a salve should be put on them." I had not even noticed that my knuckles were bruised and bleeding. No one told me punching people would hurt me too. "I will talk to Professor Snape about reducing your sentence. Perhaps you could still be allowed to attend matches…"

"Thank you Madame Hooch" I said quietly.

She nodded "Mr. Malfoy, can I trust you to see Miss Weasley to the hospital wing without any further incidents?"

"Yes Madame Hooch" he agreed.

As we walked a long I could see him glance at me out of the corner of his eye once in a while. Finally I sighed. "No, it isn't always like that. Mostly we get along. Along-ish. It is this Quidditch obsession. And… well…" I really didn't want to finish that thought, as it turns out I didn't need to.

"And me, yeah, he made that pretty clear." Draco was frowning.

"They didn't choose my house; they don't choose my friends, Draco. I am not their perfect little Gryffindor Princess. I was never going to be. Fred and George _were_ right. I was a snake from the start. So what? There is nothing wrong with being a snake." I linked my arm through his. "As long as I don't get eaten by lions." We both laughed.

When Mum and dad found out about our little fight we both got letters. I expected it to be bad. Mum sent a letter saying how disappointed they were that I had resorted to physical violence to solve my problems and that in the future they expected better judgment from me. Ron... I had not been expecting their response to him. He got a proper howler! Mum was really angry when Fred and George told her what he had said to me. After breakfast both of them hugged me and told me that they knew I was a snake from birth but they liked snakes. That Ron was a giant git and they had slipped a toffee to him that made him flatulent in all of his classes the next day.

Fred and George are the best.

My detention with Professor Snape wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He had me rewriting some of the old records that had gotten so faded they were almost impossible to read and sorting through them. I got to learn that there were a lot of good Slytherins. Some really great ones even. And that not all Gryffindors were good and brave. And not all Hufflepuffs were loyal and hard working. All Ravenclaws were smart, but smart didn't mean good. In fact He Who Must Not Be Named could have been a Ravenclaw. Some of them went as bad as it could be possible to go! There was some really dark stuff in there! I may have even been willing to do this even if there was no detention involved.

And I made money even without trying. My investments started to pay off. I was able to buy a couple of more stocks by reinvesting my earnings. Which was a good thing since detention put a damper on my detective work.

It turned out that I did not need to worry as much about Quidditch as I thought all of the matches were cancelled due to the attacks on muggleborns. The latest victim was Hermione Granger. That was when they shut down Quidditch and there was serious talk about shutting down the school.

I couldn't stand the thought. I would have to go home. I spent a lot of time staring at walls praying the Heir of Slytherin would be caught. I was sitting in the library studying for a History of Magic when to my surprise my twin sat next to me. She looked pale and sick and frankly, terrified.

"Ginny? Are you OK?" I asked cautiously, she hadn't spoken more than a handful of words to me all year.

"Alya, I need to talk to someone… to tell someone… I need to talk to you, but I need you to swear you will keep it secret, what I am going to say." She looked like she was going to throw up.

"Merlin, Ginny, are you pregnant?!" it was all I could think of. "I will kill Harry Potter with my own two hands!"

She blushed "NO! shhh! I am not pregnant! For Merlins sake Alya! I… am… I am having bad dreams where I am… hurting people… and sometimes I wake up in weird places… and… Alya I think I am going crazy!" she looked like she was ready to cry.

"Oh, wow, Ginny, sleep walking and nightmares" I took her hand "you must be terrified! Why don't we have a sleep over? I can watch you while you sleep and we can catch up and you won't be alone?"

"Oh Alya" she breathed "We have been so awful to you and here you are just being my sister again."

"Ginny, you haven't been awful, you are my twin, you have just been… busy I guess…" I didn't want her to feel bad. She had ignored me and that hurt but she hadn't actually done anything.

We made plans for that night to meet up for our sleep over. I was actually pretty excited.

Except Ginny never showed. I was taken to Professor Dumbledore's office where I learned Ginny had been taken to the Chamber of Secrets where the message said her bones would lie forever.


	10. The Chamber of Secrets

**Chapter 10**

 **For those who feel badly about Arthur Weasley or any of Alya's family, please keep in mind that these are events as filtered through the eyes of a child who feels like she doesn't quite belong in her own family. She feels misunderstood and ignored. Arthur knows that Lucius is a Death Eater and he is a survivor of the first Blood War. He can't fully explain all of this to Alya without traumatizing her, or so he fears, as any parent would under the circumstances, so he reacts poorly to her Hero worship of Lucius Malfoy. Parents and children have misunderstandings and still come through it alright in the end. Did Arthur handle this in the best way? Absolutely not. But parents make mistakes. We sometimes let fear control our words and actions. Don't count their relationship out just yet!**

I knew I should have stayed in Dumbledore's office with my family. They were devastated as well. Mum was inconsolable and Dad… he just stared at a wall like he didn't know anyone was even there. It was clear they had already given up.

To them Ginny was dead or as good as.

I couldn't stand to stay. I could not watch them treat Ginny as a… a past tense.

So I ran. I ran to the only place that felt like home right now, the dungeons. I didn't know what I was going to do when I got there besides panic. Maybe cry. I just wanted to get away, to be alone.

Normally this time of day the common room would be empty, everyone would be in class. I expected to slip in and head up to my room with no one the wiser.

This day was the exception. Because of the attacks and Ginny missing, classes had been cancelled, so when I opened the door to the dungeons I was met by a sea of faces. They all knew my twin was taken and I could tell by the sympathetic looks I was getting that everyone here considered Ginny dead and gone as well.

So I turned and fled. This time I made my way to one of the entrances to our secret passages. The one behind the big tapestry showing the history of some old goblin rebellion.

Sliding inside the panel that separated the main castle from our tunnels I collapsed against a wall and sobbed.

Curled up in the fetal position as I was, with my head on my knees and my arms wrapped around myself for comfort, I never noticed when the panel slid open again and someone sat beside me. I did not realize I was no longer alone until someone reached out and gently took my hand. I startled a bit until I looked up and in to the very concerned silver eyes of Draco Malfoy.

Embarrassed I put my head back down on my knees. "No one supposed to see me like this." I mumbled in to my robes "I came here to be alone."

Rubbing my hand he said quietly "We _are_ alone, don't worry, I won't let anyone else in."

I wanted to laugh, he wasn't supposed to see me like this either, weak and miserable "You were part of "no one" Draco." I managed with a weak smile.

"As if I was going to let you run off somewhere alone and upset. You are my best girl friend, Alya." He suddenly seemed to realize what he had said "I mean not _girlfriend_ girl friend, just…"

"Draco? Stop talking now." I whispered and held his hand a little tighter.

"Yeah… alright" he said, pulling me into his side and wrapping an arm around me.

With my head on his shoulder I wondered when we had gone from mere acquaintances to best friends. I mean, was he even _my_ best friend? I thought about who else could be. I mean I liked my group and they were some of my closest friends, but were any of them best friend material?

No, I decided, he was right. Everything I had done this year from learning Quidditch to flying around memorizing plays had been because he is my friend. Best friend, I clarified to myself.

After I had cried myself out I finally looked up "You have to go now, Draco, I… have something to do."

"You are mad if you think I am going to let you wander off looking for Ginny on your own." He said firmly "We go together or not at all."

He stood up and pulled me to my feet. "Alright, which way?" he asked.

Thinking about it long and hard I finally said "Down further. We have only gone up from here and if the Chamber were there we would have seen it. We have not cleared out the passages below so they will still be filled with cobwebs and dust."

"And spiders…" Draco looked at me a little disturbed.

"No… we really haven't found any spiders in here." I reassured him.

We walked down the passages for about half an hour, not saying anything when Draco suddenly stopped me.

"Alya, I have been thinking about what we are likely to find down there. Did your parents ever let you read any of Beedle the Bard's other books?" he asked me finally.

"No… I knew he wrote some, but we didn't have any in the house." I told him, wondering where this was leading to.

"I am not surprised" he said "his other books are really not suitable for kids."

"But you have read them?" I asked, still confused.

"My father has very different ideas about what is suitable for kids." He told me.

Remembering Mr. Malfoy being impressed with my investing book I smiled "Yes, he is very tolerant that way."

The look Draco gave me was… odd, sort of sad and disgusted and ashamed all mixed in to one. I did not pay much attention to it then, but years later I would remember that look.

"In his book Age of Reason: of Gods and Monsters Volumes I and II* he has information on two creatures, cockatrice and basilisks. I don't remember exactly the wording but it is something like this:

 _Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land,_

 _there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk,_

 _known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may_

 _reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born_

 _from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of_

 _killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous_

 _fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who_

 _are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death._

 _Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy,_

 _and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster,_

 _which is fatal to it."_

I finally understood what he was getting at. "You think we are going to face a basilisk down there?"

"Yeah… I don't know, but whatever it is will be very dangerous. Deadly even. We need to grab Ginny and run." He sounded so frightened, but he kept walking. I thought it one of the bravest things I had ever seen.

"I have no intentions of fighting a basilisk, or any other deadly creature down here, Draco. We find it and…" I stopped, I could hear what sound like someone digging and cursing. Putting my finger to my lips I said "shhh" and walked over to a crack in the wall.

I was amazed by what I saw. Ron was digging furiously through rocks, with his bare hands the numbskull, and… was that Professor Lockhart?

Leaning in to the crack I called out to my brother "Ron! Ron, over here."

Ron looked around startled but clearly could not see me "Alya? Merlin, were you caught too?!"

I sighed "No, Ron over here against the wall to your right. The large crack."

Ron ran over to me "Alya, you have to get out of here, there is a vicious monster down here."

"Yeah, a basilisk, we know, Draco figured it out." I was rather proud of Draco at that moment seeing the startled look Ron gave me.

"Malfoy is with you? Never mind, I don't care, get out of here. Oi, Malfoy, get her out of here, I already lost one sister I am not losing the other!" Awww, how sweet except…

"Ronald Billius Weasley" he flinched at his full name "How dare you give up on Ginny! I am not, and neither is Draco." I chose to ignore Draco muttering about how he didn't give two figs about my sister he was here for me.

Ron sighed "Alya we are doing everything we can to get her back. Please just go back upstairs and wait.

"Nothing doing, I don't trust you." I saw him wince, whatever, he deserved it.

"Alya, I am sorry, for everything, I don't care who your friends are or whose broom you sit your prissy arse on if you will only go back and stay safe!" I rolled my eyes at his "prissy arse" comment.

"Take care Ron, see you when you get back." I pulled Draco by the hand further in to the… they could no longer be called dungeons, where were we? Catacombs? Were there dead people down here?! No... wait, this looked more like…

"Are these sewers?" asked Draco mirroring my thoughts.

"Maybe… probably yeah, and where our water supply comes from." He turned green at that "Draco, I am sure they are not from the same source, come on."

Just a bit longer and we came up on a steel bar grate covering a tunnel of some sort. Down at the end, on the ground I could see Ginny laying so still on the ground I was sure she was…

"She is alive, Alya, look, she is breathing."

Just then a large, and by large I mean monstrously, by Merlin this thing cannot be real huge, body of a snake slithered by. I could hear running and panting, and someone taunting someone else. Harry? Was that Harry's voice? Who was the other one? And a bird screeching?

Draco worked on the bars getting them loose as I listened.

"NO!" I could hear someone screaming. "LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM! KILL HIM!"

I grabbed Draco's arm " _Smell_ him Draco, something has blinded the monster!"

Draco nodded as the last bar we needed to come free was removed allowing us to squeeze in.

Between the two of us we managed to use our wands to maneuver Ginny close enough to pull her in to the tunnel we were in. No one tried to stop us, thankfully. We were using everything we had to levitate her to us.

She was so cold and so pale. But she was alive! Draco pulled his warm cloak off to cover her with. I squeezed his hand thankfully.

Suddenly the huge snake was back in the room, it crashed down right where Ginny would have been! I saw it was chasing someone. Harry, who now had a gleaming sword in his hand! But he was going to be no match for that snake. Standing I started throwing ever confusion spell I could think at it. Including a few stinging hexes to keep it off balance. Just as I was too exhausted to think the creature made one last lunge at Harry and impaled itself on the sword Harry was holding.

I collapsed against the tunnel and could only watch as Harry limped towards a small black book lying on the ground and pulled a fang from his leg to stab through it. Tons of ink came spilling out like blood. That was when I noticed the older boy standing there. It must have been his voice I heard. He started to scream and shake and then he just… disappeared.

As soon as the boy disappeared Ginny started coming to. She looked up at me groggy and confused "Alya?"

"This was NOT the sleepover I had in mind Ginevra Weasley!"

She laughed weakly and looked around seeing Harry. She shrugged off the cloak and ran to him. I just shook my head. She fell to the ground next to him. I could hear her confession. She was responsible for all of it! Except Harry assured her she was not really, she was possessed by… that boy was he Who Must Not Be Named?!

I could hear him tell her how to get to Ron and that she was to leave him here, he was poisoned and not going to make it.

"Nertz to that" I muttered "Bloody wanker just saved my sister, he is getting out of here."

Draco nudged me just as a huge red fiery looking bird landed on Harry's leg and started to… were those tears? Was it crying?

"That's a phoenix" whispered Draco, "their tears can heal anything from what I have heard."

I really needed to read more books on magical creatures.

As soon as Harry was healed, he grabbed Ginny by the hand and started down another tunnel with her. Like the love struck silly thing she was she never even looked back for her own sister. I chuckled.

"Come on" said Draco taking my hand "let's go back.

Still chuckling I followed Draco as he led me back up never letting go of my hand. I thought about how I would never forget a sibling to tag along after some boy.

It wasn't until we closed the tapestry behind us that I remembered Ron.

 ***The book I attribute here to Beedle the Bard is based on an actual book Thomas Bulfinch (1796–1867). Age of Fable: Vols. I & II: Stories of Gods and Heroes. **


	11. Year Two Summer

**Chapter 11**

With Ginny restored and taken home early to recover, the rest of the year was uneventful. We Weasley siblings could have all gone along to be with her but I was clearly not going to do that, twin or not. I figured the family needed time to be together without the snake in their midst.

Besides, the Vipers Nest, as my group had taken to calling ourselves, had only a few weeks left together before a whole summer apart and we wanted to spend every minute we could just hanging out. We all let Pria put her silly creams and powders on us, even Frank and James, though they stopped short of color.

Esme was amazing with scents. She created special colognes for each of us and put them in little bottles. She had a real talent, I told her she could actually make money at this. We decided next year I would help her market her creations so she could start saving for the trips she wanted to take when she left school.

This led to a discussion on everyone's talents. James was really good at finding things. Better than me even. He was a brilliant detective where I was merely very good. I told him he should be the one spearheading our investigations and I should be his Watson. The rest of our group looked at us funny when he laughed. He was the only one who had read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Thank Merlin for a father who loved all things muggle.

My talent was making money. I was really good at it. It was settled then. The Vipers Nest was officially becoming a group of entrepreneurs next year! Esme and her scents, Mora and her fashion, she had more charms for beauty than anyone I had ever heard of. James and his detecting Pria and her beauty creams and Frank had a knack for finding research topics that teachers loved and organizing them. It may not seem like much, but when you have a paper due and you are stuck, you will pay anything not to have to figure out your own topic and what books you need! He will make a great attorney one day!

As the last day of school loomed near I knew I was really going to miss the nest, but I was especially going to miss Draco. We had taken more and more to just hanging out reading next to each other. Sometimes just in the same room, sometimes on the couch propped up against each other. Pansy hated it, which meant she tried to get to the couch first nearly every day, but she wasn't always successful. She just looked ridiculous. And Draco ignored her when she sat there anyway.

Once, just to be mean I was pretty sure, she sat in the middle of the couch, intent on keeping me as far from Draco as possible. Theo and Blaise took up residence on either side of her, winking at me. Grinning at them, I scootched over on the overstuffed chair I was on and made room for him. Without looking up from his book he plopped down next to me and to make himself more comfortable he pulled me sideways and pulled my legs across his lap propping his book on my knees not once taking his eyes off of his book. The boy has talent.

Finally the last day arrived and the train ride home was just depressing for me. My brothers and Ginny were already home, thankfully, but had clearly tasked Harry and Hermione with checking on me.

They walked in to my car looking decidedly uncomfortable. I couldn't really blame them. The Vipers were not welcoming under the best of circumstances and they didn't like Harry and Hermione at all. James stood up to block their access to me at once. James can be pretty intimidating. I expect he will be the new keeper when Marcus retires next year. That kind of depressed me more. Marcus Flint can be a bit of a bully and an arse to people outside of Slytherin, but he protects his own. And he always looked after me especially. I mean he did bawl out Draco for missing the snitch, but he is the captain, it is kind of his job. But outside of Quidditch and to Slytherins he is super protective. Not bright but protective. Kind of like a big dumb guard dog, I would never tell him that though.

"It is OK James" I said, standing up and putting a hand on his shoulder, he grumbled about it, but sat down. I walked outside with them and leaned against a wall. I just watched them not speaking. I didn't really have anything to say.

"Err… Ron just wanted …" Harry started but stopped, clearly he didn't have much to say either.

Hermione chimed in "Ron just wanted to make sure you were OK after everything that happened in the Chambers."

I shrugged. If Ron had been so concerned he could have asked me. I didn't say this though. As it turns out I didn't need to.

"If the Weasel wanted to know how Alya was he should have asked her afterwards, not sent his two lackeys to do it." Draco came to my rescue. How he knew I needed him I don't know. He knew I didn't really like to talk about that experience to anyone else.

"I don't see how this concerns _you_ Malfoy." Sneered Hermione.

"Seeing how it was _me_ and not _you_ who went in to the Chamber with her, I don't see how this concerns _you_ , Granger." He smirked at her, grabbing my hand. Clearly neither one had heard about this since the shock on their faces did not look faked. "I can see your good buddy Weasley did not clue you in. MY best friend doesn't need you, so why don't you bugger off, and if the Weasel wants to know how she is he can ruddy well ask her himself. Or he can ask me if he dares."

Looking uncomfortable they walked away. Draco hugged me. "Go back inside with the others, Alya. Get some chocolate." He squeezed me and sauntered back to his car.

At Kings Cross Mum and dad were there to pick me up. Dad hugged me tight and whispered that he was sorry and wanted to make it up to me. What was I supposed to do? He is my dad after all. I just nodded and hugged him back. Mum looked happy and dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.

I know they don't mean to make me feel excluded. It isn't their fault that I am different. It is mine. I just can't figure out how to fit in. I promise myself to try to do better. Maybe now that I know Quidditch better it will help. I can talk to them about more stuff. I can hope anyway. I really want them to want to be around me more. They love me. Heck maybe they even like me. But they really don't understand me.

I see the Malfoys and give a little wave. Mr. Malfoy winks at me causing me to blush. My dad tightens his jaw but he doesn't say anything. I call that progress!

At home everyone acts happy to see me anyway. Even Ron, but I am pretty sure his is mostly guilt. Or an extreme desire not to have his nose broken again.

Ginny and I finally have that sleepover we wanted and we stay up all night talking about everything girly. I show her the perfume Esme made me and the creams from Pria. She is suitably impressed. Enough to ask shyly if maybe Esme would make her a special scent. We talked about boys. Harry Potter of course. She is trying to be friends with him without having a panic attack. I told her all about Draco.

"Do you like him?" she asked

"Yeah, I told you, he is my best friend. I am sort of required to like my best friend." I laughed.

"No, I mean "like" like him." She clarified.

"Oh, no," I blushed, trying not to remember his eyes or how good he smelled or his smile. "Not like that. Besides, you know what Dad says, Malfoys and Weasleys don't mix. I can't like him like that."

Ginny grinned at me rather cheekily "Since when have you ever done what you are supposed to, Alya?"

"I made a promise to myself to try, Ginny, I want you guys to actually want to be around me you know." I said sadly.

"Oh, Alya, I don't know where you keep getting this idea that no one wants to be around you." She hugged me.

I just shrugged. This was the most I had talked in a long time. Only Ginny and Percy really knew how I felt. After that confession we went back to just having fun.

The next day we got the most exciting news! Dad won the Daily Prophet's Grand prize and we would be spending a whole month in Egypt. I owled the Vipers and Draco who were all pleased and excited for me. Draco said he would try to get his parents to agree to go for at least part of the time we were there so we could spend some time together.

The next several weeks were spent packing and preparing for the trip. Grandma Weasley, That would be Cedrella Weasley nee Black who I look like, promised to look in on the house and send someone to make sure the garden gnomes did not try to take over again. I got a stern look from my mother for that one. As if I had encouraged them to rebel! It is NOT my fault the blasted things unionized!

Last minute I got an owl from Draco saying they could not cancel their plans but that he would see me on the train to Hogwarts. He also sent a cream to keep me from getting sunburned and sunglasses. Best best friend ever!

I loved spending the whole month with Bill my oldest brother and even Charlie came for a week. I knew Charlie didn't always feel like he belonged either. Out of all of my brothers Charlie understood me the best and I was closest to him even though he was so much older. I was heartbroken when he moved to Romania.

We explored everything we could and Dad even insisted on seeing some of the muggle sights.

By the time we got home I felt a little closer to my family. We did not argue even one time and we had really bonded. I had missed my friends and I wished they could have been there with me, especially Draco, I would have loved teasing him about not being able to go out in the sun without being burned alive with his fair skin!

When we got home there was only two weeks left until my birthday and right after we would go back to school shopping.

I immediately owled draco and the Vipers to let them know when we would be in Diagon Alley and they all owled back to tell me they would try to make it at the same time.

Mum and dad seemed very concerned about some escaped convict from Azkaban. Interesting. I didn't know it was possible to escape from Azkaban. I sent an owl to James, maybe between the two of us we could figure out how he did it.

We spent the next several days owling back and forth debating how it would be possible. James' parents had books on dementors, but not as many as Draco's did. I looped him on and we had some serious debates on how they might be tricked or defeated.

None of us had any idea how this event would impact our entire school year of course, it was merely an amusing g subject to occupy our summer days with.


	12. Back to School Shopping

**Chapter 12**

Our back to school shopping coincided with my and Ginny's birthday. I was so excited! I wanted to buy Ginny something really nice, except no one knew about the galleons in my vault, plus most of it was tied up in my investments so I couldn't easily get it out anyway. Not without selling. And I love Ginny and all, but…

Mum and Dad had clearly saved for this day. They sent the boys off to do their own shopping and took Ginny and I to Florean Fortescue's for ice cream. We had barely finished when I felt a pair of hands come over my eyes and a girly voice giggle "Guess who?"

"Esme!" Looking up I was surprised and so happy to see all of the Vipers standing behind me. The way Mum and Dad were smiling I knew they had to have been part of this surprise. Jumping up I hugged each of my friends in turn.

They had all brought me presents. Skin creams from Pria, perfume from Esme, from Frank and James the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a new book bag from Mora that lightens my books. My friends are the best.

They had not even forgotten Ginny. They had bought her her very own broom. A Clean Sweep Six. It was used, and in need of a good servicing, but Ginny looked ready to cry. I knew they had all pitched in for it.

Grinning James said "Hey, Alya taught us how to use our talents to make some extra spending money, it was the least we could do. She got the fruits of our summer labor, but we knew she would want you to have this." Jumping up Ginny hugged each of them.

Mum and Dad gave each other a funny look, but I ignored it. My twin was happy and that was all I cared about. Besides at that moment looking up I saw in the door was my very best friend waiting for me to notice him.

"Draco" I breathed.

Giving me his patented smirk, I swear he practiced that bloody thing in a mirror for hours, he stepped in to the room and handed me a small wrapped package and hugged me.

Walking over to our table he shook my father's hand "Mr. Weasley" he said formally.

"Draco, how has your summer been?" My father replied stiffly.

"Very good sir." Draco turned to me "I can't stay, Aly, I just wanted to give you your present and wish you a happy birthday, my parents are waiting" he nodded towards the door "may Alya walk me out sir, my parents would also like to wish her a happy birthday."

My father did not look pleased but said "Of course, I will come with you Alya."

Stepping outside I was happy to see both Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy standing outside the doors clearly waiting for us.

Mrs. Malfoy Kissed my cheek wishing me a happy birthday while Mr. Malfoy held my hand in both of his.

"I hear you did quite well for yourself this last year" he said with a wink.

"Yes sir, my school year was very successful." I smiled at our shared secret. Only the Malfoy's and Mr. Stickwick knew how diligently I invested my money.

"One day I expect I will be hearing great things from you young lady." Mr. Malfoy kissed the back of my hand. "We must go now Draco, say your good byes. Weasley." He said to my father, and turned on his heel.

"I will owl you, Alya." Draco said before following after his parents.

"Alya… what was Lucius Malfoy talking about?" my father asked carefully?

I shrugged, I wasn't exactly trying to hide my money from my family, and they just made it clear they hated the very idea of what they called my obsession with material things. It made me a freak to them. I hated lying, so I figured saying nothing was better.

We went back inside. I was so happy to see my Mum and Ginny chatting comfortably with my friends. I was a little less happy to see frank slurping down the last of my chocolate frog ice cream "hey you bloody Viper! That was mine!" I socked him in the arm.

"Alya!" Mum gasped shocked "You cannot call your friends names!"

We all laughed "Mum, we ARE Vipers, all of us!" I motioned at my group "Slytherin! We call ourselves the Vipers Nest. And he IS a Viper. He ate my last chocolate frog!"

At that Frank stuck his tongue out at me where it was still hopping about "oo 'ant I' 'ack?"

"No I don't want it back, you gross boy!" I laughed.

Even Mum laughed at that.

"Mum, Dad, could the Vipers come for a sleepover if their parents OK it?" I asked.

Mum and Dad looked at me startled "Of course sweetheart." Dad answered for both of them. "With Charlie and Bill out we have plenty of room. But only after you clear it with their parents."

Squealing we promised to meet back up at the Leaky Cauldron if all of their parents said yes.

And that was how the Vipers Nest ended up at the Burrow squealing in our living room over biscuits and pumpkin juice exploding snaps. Even Ron, Harry and Hermione had come in. I had not really expected the Poster Trio for Gryffindor goodness to want anything to do with the Slytherin baddies but it wasn't too bad. Harry and Ron were playing chess and Hermione actually seemed interested in my Sherlock Holmes books. I forgot she was muggle born. She and James had a long discussion over all things muggle. He was a pureblood of course, but he got top marks in muggle studies and had take several trips to muggle London and new York where his family had business dealings in something called "computers".

Esme made Ginny and Hermione their own special scents and Pria made skin care products for them and Mum. I was so proud when mum told both girls they should consider going in to business and they told her that not only had they already done so but that I had been the one to suggest it and to help them figure out how to get set up. My whole family had looked at me in shock. "Oh well… that is… good then." Mum had said.

I liked having the Vipers there. It made my being quiet far less noticeable. My friends never commented on it the way my family did. They just accepted it. My family is so outspoken that I really stand out, but among the Vipers it is just normal for me to be the quiet one. They never think about it. So with them in the house, they kind of cover for me just like they do at school. Slytherins stick up for each other. We don't eat our own. That was the first rule we learned from Gemma Frawley.

The next day I took the Vipers to see my tree house. I was a little nervous because I had never shown this to anyone. My Mum and Dad finally knew about it. I told them at the start of summer. They were not happy, of course, that I had performed underage magic but they understood I needed a place to escape to. And after everything that had happened with Ginny and our fight over the holidays they were inclined to let me have this one thing all my own.

The Vipers declared it bloody brilliant. I blushed. Esme and Mora set about making it a little more homey with stuff they just kept pulling out of their bags. Little picture frames and the like. The boys move stuff around so things were more comfortable. And never ones to exactly follow rules, dead branches and twigs became bookshelves and rocking chairs via a bit of underage magic and the floor was reinforced. By the time we were all finished it almost looked like a proper livingroom. My friends are the best. Did I mention that? And James, being the best, managed to repair my old books even further. They looked almost new when he was done.

Using magic I didn't really want to think about too much Mora managed to create a working loo. I did not delve in to where the waste went. As long as I carted up water she said it would all work. At least until I learned how to transfigure water from nothing. That was a really advanced spell. I was not there yet. I could pull it from the tree, but I would risk killing the tree if I did that too much. Besides, I tried that for tea once and it tasted off.

Late that night I opened Draco's gift. It was a beautiful gold chain with a locket with his constellation on one side and mine on the other.

I owled him at once to tell him how much I loved it.

At the end of the weekend I was sorry to see them all go, but I was so happy they had come. We promised to do this at least once every holiday.

Mum made such a fuss over it though that it made me rethink those plans. Clearly my family had given me up as a lost cause doomed to spend my days as a crazy kneazel lady muttering conspiracy theories and sending letters to the Quibbler editor. Was it really _that_ unusual that I had friends? Was it really _that_ unusual that Slytherins could be nice and normal?

My last week of the summer is my favorite. Grandmother Weasley comes to visit. She is the one person who makes me feel like I belong. The one person I look like. I wonder if she ever felt like she did not belong in this loud happy family?

She always hugs me first and longest but never expects more from me. This time seems different though.

"Alya Cedrella Elladora Alexia Weasley (Quite a mouthful I know, Grandmother Weasley insisted as I look like her that I keep the Black tradition of five names and one be hers) am I to understand that you have been sorted in to Slytherin and have taken up with the son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy?" Grandmother does not waste any time.

"Yes Grandmama. I like him very much." I replied.

"I see. Well, your parents will be useless at negotiating a marriage contract so I shall see to the formalities." She said quite matter of factly.

I choked on my pumpkin juice. "Marriage? Grandmama it is NOT like that!"

"I assure you it is. If it were not Lucius would not allow you to associate with his son Alya. Has he taken a keen interest in you?" My father was glaring from the doorway. Was this the reason for him being so upset about my friendship with the Malfoys?

"I would not say "keen" interest." I hesitated.

"I will take that as a yes. And has young Master Malfoy been allowed to present you with gifts?" she raised an eyebrow.

I showed her the locket.

"Hmmm…" was all she said.

Her "hmmms" hid a wealth of meanings but I was never quite sure what meanings they held. She was a lot better at them than I was. Slytherin. I had to remember, she was also Slytherin.

"Grandmother, he is just my best friend. Malfoys and Weasleys Don't mix." I reminded her.

"You are also a Black." I remembered that Mr. Malfoy had also said something similar and frowned.


	13. Dementors on the Train

**Chapter 13**

Grandmother decided that this was the perfect year to see me off to school. Because of course she did. Oh she said she wanted to see all of her beloved grandchildren to the train.

Merlin's hairy left testicle she did. None of the others ever got the special Grandmother Weasley treatment. And she did not walk arm in arm with them. Well, t be fair, Fred and George were not exactly the arm in arm sort, not if one did not want something explosive slipped into your pockets, and Ron had run off to find Harry, and I and Percy was hunting up Penelope and pretending he wasn't, but why couldn't Ginny be dragged along and have her hair smoothed down and her cheeks pinched in to color?

I looked to mum pleadingly, but she was smiling at me all goofy. Only Dad was on my side, but he didn't dare say no to his mother. Do we ever get to say no to our own mothers? Empirical evidence suggested no, no we did not.

I saw the Vipers and wanted to run off and join them, but nothing doing. Grandmother said proper young ladies did not run off and join their friends, _proper_ young ladies waited for their friends to join them.

"When in the bloody hell did I become a proper young lady?!" I gasped in outrage.

Dropping a kiss on grandmother's cheek Fred said "A miracle worker is what you are grandmother."

Kissing her other cheek George continued "We have never seen her give a response to anyone, have we Freddy?"

'Indeed not, Georgie. Now we know how to manage it, take notes mother." Fred grinned.

"Just accuse her of manners." George kissed Mum goodbye.

I glared at both of them sullenly causing them both to laugh and bow mockingly at me.

Swatting them on their behinds Grandmother shooed them off, looking over my shoulder. Turning around I saw the reason for her sudden interest in turning me in to a "proper young lady.

"Please, I am begging you Grandmama, please in the name of all that is good and sane, please don't embarrass me." I pleaded seeing the Malfoys enter the platform.

"Nonsense, why would I have any interest in embarrassing you?" she asked a little too brightly and happily for my comfort.

"Narcissa!" she called out cheerfully "It has been too long!"

I cringed watching the two women kiss each other on the cheek. It was going to be a long miserable few minutes before I was allowed to escape. Looking over I could see the Vipers looking at me with sympathy.

Sympathy from the Vipers. Which meant they knew what my grandmother was up to. Could this day get any worse?

As it turned out it could. Draco was looking at me uncomfortably. Which meant HE also knew. It could get better. Perhaps there would be a freak accident in potions and Seamus Finnegan would manage to blow up his cauldron and I would be maimed or killed. That was a comforting thought. I soothed her frazzled nerves with thoughts of months of recovery in St. Mungos.

When we were finally allowed to escape the horrifying clutches of Narcissa Malfoy and Cedrella Weasley Draco and I fled. Proper young lady be damned I barely tossed a good bye over my shoulder. My father laughed at my poor manners.

Esme hugged me and promised to make Frank and James guard the door if I wanted to die of embarrassment. I told her that would be lovely as I collapsed in the corner.

"Goodness, could that have been any more awkward?" asked Pria.

"Well…" offered Frank, they could have called a press conference.

I glared at him while the rest of the Vipers laughed.

"They don't really intend to marry you off to Malfoy, do they?" asked James.

"Well, my grandmother does, but my father won't let her. You know how he feels about the Malfoys. He doesn't even like me being friends with them." James nodded.

"Do you think you grandmother just wants to get back in to society?" asked Esme.

"No… not for herself." I mused "But I think she would be happy if I was. My grandmother is terribly fond of me. She would never say so, but it isn't really a secret that I am her favorite. That really isn't the blessing you would think it was. I wish Ginny was her favorite. Let her be a proper lady."

Pria and Mora laughed "Can you imagine Ginny Weasley quidditch lover and all around sports fanatic being poked and prodded into a proper pureblood wife? There would be blood shed." Esme exclaimed.

After we settled down enough we got in to some serious exploding snap.

A couple of hours in to the ride, but well before we could possibly have arrived at Hogwarts we felt the train slow and stop. Looking at each other confused I looked out the window and saw… I wasn't sure what I saw but my stomach clenched and I felt nauseated and like the happiness was being sucked from me.

"What… what was that?" I asked fearfully.

Frank and James, whose father was a guard at Azkaban looked at each other, both had gone pale "That" said James quietly "was a dementors."

I never knew why, but I knew I had to go find Draco, make sure he was OK. Slipping out the door, I told the others I would be right back.

"No," whispered pria, fear lacing her words "Alya stay here with us."

"It's OK, I will come straight back." I reassured her.

Draco must have had the same thought since we met in the corridors.

Grabbing my arm he pulled me in to an empty car "What are you doing wandering around?" he asked me fear and annoyance mixed in equal parts in his voice "there are dementors searching the train. It isn't safe to be wandering around, Alya, you should have stayed with your friends!" he peaked out the window before drawing the curtain closed.

"I could ask you the same thing, Draco, why are you wandering around out here?" I tried to get a peek out before he closed the curtains entirely.

"I knew, I just knew you would not do the smart thing. I knew if there was something dangerous the first thing you would do would be go wandering the bloody train to see if you could get yourself injured or worse. I swear you should have been sorted in to Gryffindor!" he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me in to the seat next to him.

"You take that back Draco Malfoy! I only went out to make sure YOU were OK and not wandering the train. And look, here you are, wandering the train!" I glared at him.

Just as he was about to say respond _something_ stopped by our doors. It felt like all of the happiness in my life was being pulled out of me. Draco reached out and took my hand and pulled me in to his chest. I could feel his heart beating against my cheek. He stoked my hair gently until that thing, that dementor, went away.

"Here" he said softly, pulling out a chocolate bar and giving me half "eat this."

As we ate it he said "tell me a happy memory, anything."

I thought about the first day I saw him and his father. "I remember the first day we met. Your father spoke to me. I didn't think he would. Most people… don't."

"And that made you happy?" he asked.

"mmhmmm. He asked me about my interests in finances. He did not make fun of me. My family usually does. They think I am odd for my interests, but your father made me feel… normal." I blushed.

"I remember you knew an awful lot about brooms." He smiled at me.

"I really wanted to invest in those groves. I was learning. But I did not know as much as you seemed to think." I laughed.

"Really? You seemed like an expert." He looked confused.

"I became one. Only because the team was relying on me. I studied. I didn't want to let you… I mean the team.. down." I blushed even more.

He looked at me shocked. "You mean.."

"Until you started asking me about it I really didn't know much about Quidditch at all. Just what I picked up around the house because my family talks about it a lot." I confessed.

"I cut up my broom based on your advise." He looked at me with wide eyes.

"I was sure glad that actually worked." Confession is good for the soul they say.

"Cut up my BROOM Weasley." He repeated in horror.

"You trimmed it a little bit Draco, it isn't like you…' my goodness he was certainly making a fuss about this whole thing!

"My Nimbus 2001, do you know what my father would have done to me if he had known?!" fixated, he had become fixated.

"Oh now really, you are blowing this out of proportion, you trimmed a few twigs here and there, and besides, the Spudmore Bro.s…" he really was becoming quite agitated.

"I pull a hair for what the Spudmore Bro.s have to say. It was not one or two twigs, I changed the entire shape!" the dementors seemed to have been forgotten, that is the power of Quidditch I suppose.

"Now Draco, you are really taking this whole thing the wrong way. You merely shaped your broom to a more aerodynamic fit for the way a seeker should be flying. It is perfectly logical…" That may have been the wrong thing to say…

"So says the girl who is not a seeker, does not know anything about Quidditch by her own bloody admission and does not even own a broom because she does not like to fly. You… you are a complete mental case Weasley." He was looking at me like he thought I was potentially dangerous.

"No really, Draco, that is a bit harsh, I did learn the game, eventually, and I have been very helpful to the team you have to admit." I smiled at all the fuss he was making.

He just shook his head at me. "In the future you will bloody well learn BEFORE you advise anyone to make alterations to expensive equipment Weasley!"

"Yes, Draco." I agreed, only because it seemed important to him.


	14. You Got Your Wish Weasley

**To all of my lovely reviewers:**

 **Thanks to all who pointed out this was messed up. Sorry I did not catch it sooner**

 **Thank you so much for the feedback. Never fear, this story will be completed. The chapter outlines are completed. I know exactly where this will end up all the way through to the end, and we will definitely see more of the venerable Grandmother Weasley. In canon JK Rowling never says what happened with Arthur's parents so I took the liberty of deciding she is very much alive. We know for certain at least one of his brothers is. I happen to like the character of Alya very much, I believe I have stated this earier, but she is not so loosely based on myself in my childhood. I never much felt like I fit in with my family. My friends were never really the friends my family wanted me to have, except in the opposite, my family was well off, no rich, but well off, and my friends were what might be considered "wrong track" sort of friends.**

The dementors made school frightening for everyone, and I was ashamed to say Draco had not made it easier on some of the other students, especially Harry Potter.

I had never quite got over my fright of them on the train. They brought up every insecure bad feeling I had ever had.He really went out of his way to make Harry's life miserable. Well, more miserable than he usually did. The very first night he mocked him in the Great Hall for passing out. I have been trying to stay ot of their battles. Harry is not so bad. He is just not my type. I am quiet but it sure doesn't seem like I like to surround myself with the quiet sort does it? I guess that is for the best. What would we talk about? Or how would we talk at all? I am not very entertaining.

The school year was already rough on Harry with that Sirius Black on the loose. Mum and Dad tried to keep it real hush, hush but with Fred and George around, we all knew this mad man had escaped to kill Harry. And then the he had come right in to the castle! Slashed up their portrait from what we had heard. Someone called the Fat Lady. Seriously, they could not think of a better name for her. Like their ghost "Nearly Headless Nick" how… ignoble.

That night Professor Dumbedore made us all sleep in sleeping bags in the great hall. James made us girls sleep between him and Frank. He made sure I slept closest to him saying as the sister of Harry's best friend he wasn't taking any chances. Draco looked… well, downright odd… about that, but he didn't say anything as Pansy declared she could not possibly sleep unless she was right next to Draco. That gave me a funny feeling in my tummy, but I didn't say anything either.

But back to Draco and his determination to be an arse. As soon as he found out Harry had passed out on the train he went out of his way to embarrass him as much as he could about it. He mocked him in the Great Hall, embarrassing me terribly and Ginny and I had a horrible fight about it. The worst part was it wasn't exactly like I could defend him. He was absolutely in the wrong. I felt even worse because even though I didn't pass out, I felt pretty scared. And now I felt like I couldn't even talk to my best friend about it. I guess he hadn't been as scared as I was.

It may have all really started with Harry getting that Firebolt. I could not have been more pleased, but for entirely other reasons. They were on the market! I mean I had seen the test model in the window of course but one display model does not a line make. But one purchase and sent out! I didn't care if Sirius Black or Voldemort himself had sent Harry that Firebolt.

HAH! See Draco? I DO belong in Slytherin.

OK, maybe that was a little over the top mean…

But when I got an owl from the Spudmore Bro.s Company telling me to stay tuned for exciting news I could not have been more excited.

Draco was prat all that day though. He was churlish and surly with me and I told him if he did not knock it off he could bleeding well go hang out with his other friends. He snapped that maybe now that my brother's best friend had got one of my beloved Firebolts maybe I wanted to go sit my prissy arse on that for a change.

I said nothing just stared at him. He crossed his arms and glared at me. I did not glare. I did not want to play this game. I just gathered my things to leave.

"Well, Weasley, I guess you got your wish, you are a normal gold digging witch just like the rest." He sneered.

I just continued walking. When I got to the top of the stairs I whispered "And now I guess you are like the rest too."

But then Ron and I found something to bond over. That witch Hermione Granger! She committed a sin. A crime so foul that I almost wished dementors would get her! She told McGonagall it was a mystery gift and that foul woman was going to take it apart. TAKE IT APART! We were united in our hatred of her. Normally I would be united in my hatred of her with Draco, but I was not speaking to him. We had not spoken in weeks. And so help me, if that broom did not come back in pristine condition I had some pretty serious dark plans for that… that… I thought a word so dark and foul it would have made the nastiest pure blood supremacist proud.

But then it was returned. I stared across the Great Hall like a proud mother as it was delivered. I may not have created that broom, but my money went in to growing the trees that went in to forming its broom. My blood sweat and tears were in the very fibers of it.

I should have known he was up to something foul when he did not ask me to go watch Gryffindor vrs Ravenclaw with him. But I guess I really didn't have any right to expect him to. I mean, I did tell him to go hang out with his other friends.

When James asked me to go watch with him, I didn't see any reason not to. We went and sat in the bleachers. Draco and his goons were sitting behind us. I really didn't much care for Crabbe and Goyle. Before too long it got a little chilly and James wrapped his cloak around me. See? THAT is what friends do. Not act like jerk arses because someone's brother's friend got a new toy that that someone doesn't even care about in the first place.

I smiled up at James. Just because I was mad at Draco did not mean I could ignore my other friends and be mean to them.

Stupid Draco.

"Got yourself a new boyfriend, Weasley?" Draco snarled from behind me. I turn around watching him, thinking about what he said. Boyfriend? James? Why did he think James was my boyfriend? I was in third year, except I was even younger than the other third years, did he forget that? I should have been in second year. I did not have boyfriends. Just friends who were boys.

I was more focused on my bank account than boys. He knew that, we had talked about it loads of times. Why was he acting so weird?

Theo plopped down between my legs sealing a cauldron cake from the bag in my hands and Blaise dropped down next to me "Not OUR Weasley, she is pure, good, no boys for her, Draco!"

"I don't know Blaise m'boy, I think we could change her mind." he said squeezing my thigh suggestively, laughing when I blushed.

James glared at them all sullenly. I snuggled up with my favorite boys to watch the game. I never noticed when Draco and the goons left the stadium. We were too focused on listening to Wood yelling at Harry to stop being such a goody goody gentleman and knock Cho on her bloody arse. We all got a good laugh out of that.

Down on the ground I saw something that made my blood run cold. I started trembling and buried my face in to James' neck. I was too scared to even run.

It looked like three dementors had entered the Quidditch field. I did not stop to ask myself why they were not flying from above. It did not seem important at the time.

"Alya" James whispered taking my hands "You are freezing! What is it?"

He rubbed my hands looking in to my eyes worriedly.

I pointed below. Too terrified to say the word. Too terrified to do anything beyond clutch James and shake.

"Merlin! Are those…?" Blaise asked in a harsh whisper.

Theo pressed back against me and I sort of wrapped my legs around him. He slipped his arms behind my legs and squeezed me both giving me comfort and comforting himself.

What can I say? We Slytherins are known for intelligence and ambition, not an over abundance of bravery.

We all heard the shout at the same time "Expecto Patronum!" I looked up from James neck to see something white come from Harry Potter's wand. It took the shape of a huge stag and ran down the "dementors" which turned out to be none other than Draco, Goyle, Crabbe and Flint all standing on each other's shoulders and wearing cloaks that made them look like dementors.

They were struggling to get out of the cloaks, kicking and fighting. It would have all been comical if it had not all been so horrifying. I was struggling not to vomit.

Everyone grew quiet looking at them.

And then there was shouting.

Some were angry at the four Slytherin, some were frightened, and some were very impressed that Harry had produced a fully corporeal patronus.

I could not believe Draco had done this knowing I was in the stadiums. Knowing how much the things had shaken me up on the trains. Why had he come to make sure I was OK if he was just going to use them to scare me later? Was his hatred of Harry more important than his lo… like of me?

I thought he was my friend. I thought he was my best friend. I thought…

Well... clearly I thought wrong.

James took me down the stadiums toward the Quidditch ground where the four morons lay stunned. Professor Dumbledore was stalking towards them. Professor Snape was sneering down at them. Madame Hooch looked ready to burn their brooms in a ritual bonfire and I thought McGonagall looked like one of those fairytale witches that I saw once in one of Dad's muggle books that ate children. They all said Professor Snape was the scary one, but I sure wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of _that_ witch!

As I walked past Draco laying there on the ground I just looked down at him sadly. I normally try not to show any emotions to people, I didn't really want him to see that he had got to me. That he had scared me very badly.

Draco opened his mouth to say something to me, what I don't know, I can't even imagine what he thought he could say that would in any way justify this. I closed my eyes. He did not deserve my pain. That was something I got to keep for myself.

Blaise and Theo just shook their heads at him in disappointment while James ushered me away.

Back in the dungeons I went to my room while the boys told Frank, Mora, Pria and Esme what had happened. They were all suitable outraged on my behalf.

When Draco got back to the door finally he tried talking to me but I just stared at him. I don't even know exactly what he said. My ears just rang.

I kept hearing 'Well, Weasley, I guess you got your wish, you are a normal gold digging witch just like the rest." Over and over again while he talked to me.

I guess that was what made him treat me with such disregard. Now he saw me just like everyone else.


	15. Care of Magical Creatures

**Chapter15**

 **For Lizard 21: I often felt it was sad my mother did not know how to deal with me as well, but I grew up, she grew better at dealing with the odd duckling n her brood and it all worked out. Of course in my family we did not have death eaters. We had cheerleaders, which are like death eaters, but much meaner. Thank you for reviewing. To second review, cheerleaders are ABSOLUTELY scarier. Lucius may not have actually beaten Draco, he would have done worse in Draco's opinion, made him go with an inferior broom, but remember, Draco is a teenage boy with no ability to handle teenage girls. And cheerleaders ARE much scarier.**

 **Dear readers, the last chapter and this one were originally one chapter but after reading it over I decided both scenarios deserved their own separate elongated scnes, I hope you agree.**

I treated him with casual indifference from that point on. I think that was why he was such a right foul git during Care of Magical Creatures that day. I think maybe if I had just yelled at him, shared how much he had scared and hurt me he would not have felt the need to do something so reckless.

Draco did not like to be ignored. He was used to being the center of attention. So when I ignored him he did not know how to take it. At first he did everything he could to get my attention and then he got mean.

In classes instead of sticking with him as a partner I was with James. Today was Care of Magical Creatures and he was an obnoxious pest and it was my job to watch him but I stuck to James like glue. Normally I wouldn't have, but I was so hurt still, so I left him with Crabbe and Goyle, and they are just a number ten stupid shoved in to a number five cauldron. I was trying to pay attention to the lesson, but also trying to watch Draco to make sure he didn't do… well, pretty much what he did.

Harry was over by this hippogriff, and Draco, who knew I was watching him, the stupid git, was smirking at me, which did not bode well for anyone. Especially not Draco. I gave him my best "You had better not do anything stupid if you know what is good for you." Look, the one I had completely copied from my mother, but he just continued to smirk.

Everything was going well enough, at first. Harry had even gone for a flight, but I was taking no chances. I watched Draco. He was doing OK at first. But then…

Draco smirked over at me, clearly still angry over our fight "This is very easy," Malfoy drawled, loud enough for me to hear him. "I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it. . . . I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?" I could hear him talking, I knew that hippogriff was not going to like what he was saying but I was too far to get to him. Hagrid was pulling at the damned thing, I was struggling to get away from James who told me that I could not go over there, it was too dangerous, I kept screaming for Draco to back away when suddenly it reared up and slashed at him. "I'm dying!" Draco called out and the class began screaming and running wildly.

"I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!" dear Merlin there was so much blood. I finally broke free of James screaming Draco's name as I did so.

"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me gotta get him outta here." (*)

I was in a panic as I ran to Draco. I was sure I was going to find him flayed from stem to stern. Please, please Merlin, I will do anything, just please let him be OK. I had even ignored the fact that I had turned my back on a very dangerous creature, a very bad move. I was very lucky not to have been attacked myself. I flung myself to the ground next to him, tears streaming down my face.

"I guess you care a little." He tried to smirk at me as I gently touched his wounded arm.

"Shut up you stupid git, if you die I won't ever get to tell you how angry I am with you and I will be mad at you forever!"

Brushing my tears away with his good hand he just whispered "Silly snake."

Hagrid gently pushed me to the side to scoop Draco up and set off towards the infirmary with me hot on their heels.

One thing I have learned having so many friends on the Quidditch team is that Madame Pophrey really only bothers you or throws you out if you get in her way. If you sit very quietly way back in a corner you can make sure your friends are OK and no one yells at you.

Something that dimwit Pansy Parkinson has yet to figure out.

As I sat quietly in a corner near the door, she rushed in screeching "DRAKEY! I came as soon as I could! Oh Merlin, you…."

No one learned just what he as Madame Pomphrey looked at her and pointed one long finger at the door "Out Miss Parkinson. Immediately, I have work to do and Mr. Malfoy may not have visitors at this time."

"Oh but I suppose you are going to allow that filthy little blood…" Pansy had turned to point at me but was startled to see that the Malfoys were both standing in the door way. Mrs. Malfoy raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow to stare at Pansy with a look that clearly said that Pansy was beneath her and should leave immediately.

I really wanted to copy that entire look. I let out an envious little sigh. Mrs. Malfoy turned a slightly amused look on me as though she knew exactly what I was thinking. I blushed and looked down. Her look had not been unkind, however.

"As you seem to enjoy the infirmary so much Miss Parkinson, a week of cleaning the bedpans without magic should satisfy your need to be close to this place."

Glaring at me Pansy stormed out.

Wanting to give the family some privacy I also stood to take my leave.

Mrs. Mafoy squeezed my shoulder kindly on my way out and my Malfoy touched my arm."I am so glad that Draco has a friend to watch over him here." Said Mrs Malfoy.

I looked over at Draco, rolling my eyes. "That's what best friends are for. Even when the git doesn't deserve it."

She smiled at me somewhat wryly "They never deserve it my dear, if you are waiting for some male to be worthy of you, I am sorry to tell you that you are in for a lifetime of disappointment."

Mr. Malfoy cocked an eyebrow at her, but I notice he didn't look like he disagreed.

"Mother, you are supposed to be here making _me_ feel better." Draco grumbled.

Mrs. Malfoy winked at me and went to her son. "Believe it or not darling, that is precisely what I am doing."

I took one final look at Draco, reassuring myself that he was going to be OK. He was paler than usual, and his normally white shirt was covered in blood, but he was awake. I shook a little at all of the blood but I smiled at him to let him know we were OK before I left.

As soon as I left I leaned against the infirmary doors. I was shaking like a leaf. All that blood. What if he had died and the last thing I had one was ignore him and left him with those two morons? I rubbed my hands over my face only too late realizing they were covered in blood. Draco's blood. I gagged.

"Why did they let you stay in there, you filthy little blood traitor? Are still sucking off Snape?" Pansy. I could not deal with Pansy right now. Not when my hands were covered in Draco's blood. Not when if I did not get somewhere I was going to have a full panic attack. It had been so long since I had once that I thought maybe I was never going to have one again.

I started to walk away. Pretty soon I was going to be curled up in a ball unable to respond to anyone. I could not be vulnerable like that with Pansy near me. I knew better than to run, it only brought them on faster.

I could hear a voice screaming. So much blood. The sickening sound of a body hitting the ground. Somewhere behind me I could hear Pansy's voice. I recognized the jinx. If she hit me with that I would be in full blown panic mode and completely at Pansy's mercy. I turned with my wand and shouted the only jinx I that came to mind, one of my own devising "ET ERUCA SUPERCILII!"(**) almost instantly Pansy's eyebrows began crawling all over her face like caterpillars. She screamed clutched her face and ran.

Beyond where she had been I saw Percy and Professor McGonagall both in a state of shock, they had drawn their wands, I think they had been about to disarm Pansy but I got to her first. I held up my hands for Percy to see. I was truly shaking by now. He understood at once, muttering to McGonagall he came to me slowly calling my name gently "Alya, I'm here, it's OK, I am going to take you in to the infirmary now."

I was in no condition to answer.

Once inside I could hear what was going on but I just stared at the ceiling.

"I did not realize she was injured when she was in here earlier." It was Madame Pomphrey. "Why didn't she say something?"

"I do not believe the blood is hers, Poppy." That would be McGonagall.

"Why would she be covered in someone else's blood?" shouted Percy "she has a panic attack every time she comes near it." Good old Percy way to embarrass me in front of the Malfoys.

Still … he wasn't wrong.

"Why is that?" asked Mrs. Malfoy.

"I do not know how this concerns you." Said Percy, in his usual imperious tone.

"As it is my son's blood she is covered in, I do believe I would like to know none the less.

"Do not be impertinent Mr. Weasley. You do not have to share family secrets, but you will not be rude." Professor McGonagall ever the stickler for propriety.

"I… apologize. It is always upsetting to see her like this." Damned it Percy, I'm not dead.

Percy, the blasted rat started telling them my story. The whole scene replaying in my mind. "When she and Ginny were younger Alya found a spell in one of our older brother Charley's books for getting more power out of brooms. Ginny wanted to keep up with Fred and George in our family Quidditch games, so Alya spelled her broom using this spell; only she did not realize her own power at that age and… over shot it somewhat. Ginny climbed too high too fast. She fell from her broom from approximately thirty feet. Alya cast a slow momentum spell and managed to slow her but there was still a great deal of blood. She has blamed herself ever since, but really, at seven she was hardly…"

"Wait" I could hear Professor McGonagall, "you mean to say at seven she managed to break the safeties on a child's broom and cast an arrest momentum on a human body falling through the air?"

"You did move her up a grade for a reason, Professor." Percy reminded her.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley, her ability to memorize spells, this… this goes beyond that. I think we need to speak to your parents. It is clear her experiences have had a profound effect on her." I did not like how worried she sounded.

I was worried. Were they going to lock me up?

I started panicking. Shaking all over again. Madame Pomphrey was saying "You ng man, you must stay in bed!"

I felt someone take my hand. I calmed down almost immediately. "Alya, open your eyes and look at me." Finally I did. It wasn't easy. "No one is taking you anywhere."

Did I ever mention how pretty his eyes were?

 ** _(*) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban JK Rowling Ch. 6 Pg. 118_**

 ** _(**) et eruca supercilii – is Latin for caterpillar eyebrows_**


	16. The Holidays 2

I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up later, I have no idea how much it was dark outside. Sitting in a chair next to my bed sound asleep was one Draco Malfoy. It took a moment to realize he was still holding my hand. Maybe that was why I was able to sleep so well without any of the bad dreams I usually have after a panic attack.

He must have felt me stir because he woke up and looking at me blearily. With a sleepy smile he finally asked "Hey, how are you feeling?"

I contemplated this for a moment looking over his face and then down to his arm. The blood had been cleaned off of him. And off of me as well. "Better. Were… were your parents still here when I was brought in?" I was desperately hoping that part had been one of the terrible hallucinations I sometimes have when in a full blown attack. I hear things sometimes…

"They were" he replied squeezing my hand "and they were quite impressed."

"Yeah… I'm sure" I murmured blushing "impressed someone like me went 13 years without being locked up." I know how Slytherin's speak, he wasn't fooling me.

"No, impressed that even though you have this… issue… with blood, you still wanted to be with me when I was attacked." He said gently, smoothing down the little wrinkly I had formed between my eyebrows.

"You are my best friend, Draco, even when you are being an enormous arse." I said with a glare "of course I was going to check on you."

He looked down at me for awhile "I am sorry I was such a jerk to you. I know you aren't a gold digger."

I looked down "You really don't know me at all then. I _am_ a gold digger. But the gold I am digging for is mine Draco. Not yours and certainly not Harry Potter's. And I don't care about brooms, not really." She shuddered at the memory of Ginny falling. "Not at all actually… I don't go flying unless you or one of the team takes me. I don't trust Harry with that. Especially not on a broom I am pretty sure is too advanced for him.

Draco brushed a loose lock of hair from my forehead. "I know you don't care about that. I just can't have my best girl… I mean… friend… drooling over something Harry has, now can I?"

That arrogant smirk was back. I went to smack him in the arm when I remembered his injury. Oh Merlin, I hadn't even asked about it!

Sitting up quickly, too quickly for him to realize I intended to, I gently took Draco's injured arm "Oh, your arm! Is it OK?"

He pulled back and showed me the sling "It is going to be fine, the cuts were deep and injured my tendons, so I have to wear this until I am fully healed, but don't worry… I have plans for how to use this…"

"Why is it that when you say 'don't worry' it always means I absolutely should worry?" I looked at him suspiciously.

"Hush, Weasley, you like to worry." He grinned at me "OH!" He said suddenly "You might be interested to know that somehow Pansy ended up with an odd condition."

"Oh?" I asked trying to keep my tone neutral.

"Yes, it was seemed her eyebrows were cursed to crawl all over her like little inchworms…"

"Caterpillars…" I murmured causing him to laugh.

"They were reattached to their correct places, but if rumors are accurate, not before one crawled in to a very uncomfortable spot." We both laughed, trying to keep it down a bit so we did not get in trouble.

"Now go back to sleep before Madame Pomfrey tosses me out of here."

I found out the next day just what Draco had meant when he said he had 'plans' for how to use his injured arm. It did not mean new ways to grip a broom or new spells for holding objects still and steady.

Oh no, not my Draco. He meant to use that arm to torment my brother. He turned him in to his personal servant during potions.

Well… he had told me once that he would make Ron sorry for tormenting me, from the wicked grin and wink he sent my way I knew this was just the beginning. It was obnoxious, but pretty harmless and Ron did sort of have it coming… cutting up roots and such seemed the least harmful thing Draco could have come up with.

I wish he had left Harry out of it. I wasn't really sure what his problem with Harry was. As far as I could tell there was simply no reason the two could not have avoided each other. But he did love to torment him. He was making thinly veiled threats against Hagrid, ones I knew were not true because as far as I knew from Draco, Mr. Malfoy had never threatened to have Hagrid fired.

I hated to think this way but… part of me suspected it was because he wanted Hagrid there to witness the execution of Buckbeak. He had been absolutely furious that Draco had been injured. Mrs. Malfoy had been beside herself with concern.

I knew exactly how they both felt. Well… maybe not _exactly_ , I wasn't his parent but I was his friend! I knew Draco had brought it on himself, really I did, but honestly? What in the name of Merlin's beard was Hagrid doing bringing creatures that could attack at the drop of a hat to a group of rambunctious third year boys? It was a recipe for disaster! Anyone with half a brain could tell that something like that was going to happen if that man was allowed to continue bringing large dangerous animals out!

I didn't want Hagrid fired, but I certainly wanted him reigned in. And I definitely did not want to take any more classes from him! Except the next classes he was not as anxious to bring out large animals and stuck to small boring ones.

The next several weeks passed quietly. We were all ramping up for the holiday. I had agreed to go home for Christmas. If it did not go better than last time I had no problem hauling myself back to Hogwarts. I talked to Draco about it and he promised to find a way to come get me and take me back if I needed him.

Ron was staying behind to keep Harry company. I still didn't understand why they couldn't just bring him to the Burrow. Really, it is all quite too much. Harry Potter good enough to bring down He Who Must not Be Named, but not good enough to sit down and have a bit of Christmas goose with?

My thirteen year old mind found it all quite sordid. I brought it up to my parents and may have been unwise enough to use words like "sordid" and "not good enough". The good news is I may be off punishment in time to attend my own wedding.

I had been looking to one event more than any other, the lighting of the Christmas tree in Diagon Alley. I was very happy and surprised to see the Malfoys also in attendance. Both older Malfoys greeted my quite pleasantly, as always. I was very pleased to see both of them, a little embarrassed which Mrs. Malfoy must have noticed as she could not say enough nice things about my willingness to help Draco after his attack. My parents both smiled tightly. They clearly did not want any Malfoy's praising me.

Well, what could I expect? I knew how unreasonable they were when it came to the Malfoys.

But it was Draco who I was very pleased to see. Of course my parents did not like this any better… less weirdly enough.

I was able to give him my gift early. I had not expected to see him tonight, I had thought to sneak off to a public owlery to send it to him. But since we were both here, I pulled out my gift and gave it to him. He seemed touched and pleased. Which is silly because he also gave me a wrapped present. Why would he think I would not have done the same?

I held my breath waiting for him to open my present. I had crafted a small stamp from the willow tree and from a broken silver necklace that I had located, the young witch who lost it was happy to have the pendant back but did not care about the chain, I made a stamp with his initials. It took a long time and looking at a lot of photos, but I designed it to look just like the ring his father wore.

When I noticed he was also waiting for me to open my present we both laughed. Pulling the wrapping off of mine I gasped. It was a beautiful silver locket with the Slytherin house crest on it. When I opened it, inside was a photo of me and Draco flying over the Quidditch pitch watching a game. It was so thoughtful I hugged him with a squeal without thinking.

Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were smiling over my exuberance. Mum and dad were not. But at least they weren't glaring. Progress, we were making progress!

Draco had heard about the willow tree house but had not seen it yet. When I told him that was where the wood came from his eyes got very soft and he smiled at me grabbing my hand. We held hands the rest of the time watching the lighting of the tree.

Greatest best friends ever!


	17. A Letter from Spudmore

**Great catch Gilyflower! Replaced all those blasted dollars with Galleons!**

 **Chapter 17**

The rest of my time until spring break was spent incredibly busy. Between study and my investigative work I had barely any time for going out with friends. But my shares were growing by leaps and bounds.

My fears about the goblins going on strike were thankfully largely unfounded. I took the Daily Prophet and while there were occasionally reports of unrest, their greed won out and they continued to work.

My friends little work ventures proved to be profitable for them as well and they shared their profits with me. Each gave me ten percent of their earnings! I was really surprised since I never asked it of any of them.

Soon I had a total of twenty shares. Two hundred Galleons worth of shares. I had never had so much monetary worth. I was starting to wonder if maybe I should start selling some to branch out a little. I would have to ask Stickwick next time I spoke to him.

The same day I was wondering that and pouring over the financial papers. I was actually thinking about Malfoy Industries. I didn't have quite enough to buy in, not at two hundred and fifty galleons a share, but would it be weird anyway? I got a very impressive looking eagle owl. It was huge and magnificent. And so was the letter attached. The wax seal looked like it had real gold leaf. Everyone wanted to know what it said they were all jumping up and down.

I could see it said "Spudmore Brothers" but something told me to keep this to myself. I just laughed "Oh, it is from my brother Bill, he likes to show off sometimes with his Gringotts letters." Everyone laughed with me and shook their heads.

"Must be nice to be able to use their owls whenever you want." Sighed Mora. Like me she had to rely on the school owls.

Once they thought it was just one of my many brothers they all went back to what they were doing. All except Draco. He kept looking at me strangely. Smiling at him I went upstairs to my room to read the letter from the Spudmore Brothers.

Unfolding it gently, I knew this letter was different from the others. Never had the parchment been so fine. Never had the wax been mixed with gold. And never had the owl been such a fine one.

With hands shaking and fingers numb I broke the wax seal and read the letter inside.

03, March 1993

Alya Weasley:

At the direction of the Shareholder Committee (the "Committee") of the Board of Directors of the Spudmore firebolt Company, you are hereby notified that the Committee has granted you a non-qualified stock option (the "Option") pursuant to the 1992 Stock Incentive Plan as adopted by the Spudmore firebolt Company and as in effect on the date of the grant (the "Plan").

This Option entitles you to an exchange of shares of the in the Goblin Iron Holdings to those of the spudmore Firebolt Company at the price current market of 10,000 Galleons per share. The date of grant of this Option is 03 March, 1993. One-third (1/3) of the shares represented by this Option shall become exercisable on each of the first three anniversaries of the date of the grant. The Option may not be exercised for fractional shares.

Except as described below, the Option is subject to the terms, conditions and restrictions of the Plan as in effect on the date of the grant. Copies of the Plan and current prospectus are enclosed. At the time or times you wish to exercise this Option in whole or in part, please refer to this letter and the provisions of the Plan dealing with methods and formalities of exercising your option.

Notwithstanding Section 6.6 of the Plan, the Options shall not become immediately and fully exercisable solely due to the consummation of the transaction contemplated in the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated April 23, 1992, by and among the Spudmore Brothers Inc and Firebolt Company. If for any reason, you do not wish to receive the award and elect instead to have it irrevocably cancelled, contact your Gringotts representative to request a rejection form, which you may complete and owl back no later than 10 March, 1993 If you choose to submit a rejection form, the rejection is irrevocable. If you have any questions regarding this stock option grant, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Spudmore Brothers

Randolph Spudmore Firebolt Co.

Senior C.W.O.

My stomach was in knots. I broke in to a cold sweat as I read and re-read the letter in front of me. It could not possibly be saying what I thought it was saying. My stocks were now worth 200,000 Galleons?! How… how as that even possible?

At the bottom of the letter was a hand scrawled note:

For your unwavering belief in my venture Miss Weasley it is with my sincere gratitude and fondness that I happily convert your stocks. Very few have remained loyal and faithful from grove to broom.

Yours in friendship,

Randolph Spudmore Chief Wizard of Operations Spudmore Firebolt

I sat on the edge of my bed for a long time wondering exactly what I was going to do. How would I explain this to my family? It would make me even more strange in their eyes. I would be even further an outsider. I had just made more in a single day than my father made in his whole life. Maybe. I wasn't really sure what my father made actually.

I really only had one person I could go to. Storming downstairs, letter tucked in to my robes, I grabbed Draco by the arm and dragged him from the room.

I pulled him protesting all the way to the secret passages in to one of the small secret rooms there. It wasn't much. We weren't even sure what its original purpose was, maybe to hold extra linens or firewood. We had dragged some old chairs and a table we found in another are here and used the room to play exploding snaps in. Or, well, the others did, mostly James and I used it to go over cases.

"Alright Aly, what is going on?" he asked after I cast lumos "Did you finally realize your undying need for hot Malfoy blood and drag me down here to have your wicked way with me?" normally I would have blushed, having only the most rudimentary knowledge of what "having my wicked way" with someone meant, but I was far too agitated.

"Stop goofing Draco, this is serious!" I pushed him towards a chair and shoved my letter in to his hands.

He took a long time reading not only the letter but the provisions on the next pages before looking up at me whistling. "How many shares had you finally purchased?"

"Twenty." By this time I was wringing my hands.

"For someone who just went from two hundred Galleons to two hundred thousand Galleons in a single day Alya, you don't look very happy." He was smiling at me like I had surely lost my mind. Maybe I had.

"Draco I have no idea what to do now. My last two years has been spent in pursuit of this. Only this. I don't really have to study, if it wasn't for Professor Snape insisting on dueling lessons and the team needing me to help with Quidditch strategy, I would probably be so bored I would become a delinquent!" I knew I was ranting but couldn't help it.

"Alya Weasley, wizardling delinquent is something I would pay to see." He grinned.

"It isn't just that, my family… Draco, they already think I'm odd. Look how they feel about me even talking to your father. They hate that I want to earn money, that I even think about investing. If they found out I was actually good at it…" I looked at him desperately.

"Right, it would not go over well." He frowned finally seeing my predicament.

"Which means I can't go to them for advice, I probably even have to hide this from them. I would like to use this money to make their lives easier, but they would take that as an insult." I sat across from him looking miserable.

"Alya, this money was not handed to you as a gift, you worked hard for it and you were smart about what you did with it. My Dad could help you make some decisions." I felt better listening to him talk.

"I have a financial advisor…" I hated to cut Stickwick out, he was there from the beginning.

"Let me guess, one of those free guys they hand you at the bank as an annual review type deal? Those guys are either in training or on punishment. They are not someone you want handling a real account." I was amazed. He thought I now qualified as a real account?

"OK, if you think your Dad would be willing…" I was a little shy about asking.

"I will owl him tonight."Draco assured me.


	18. Financial Advice

As good as his word, Draco did owl his father, but we still had a problem. Student's letters home were subject to being read by nosey students and staff alike. It was agreed it was an invasion of privacy but no one really did anything to stop it.

So sending letters back and forth was not going to be effective. Not if I didn't want every Weasley to know what I was doing. Which since I was planning correspondence with Lucius Malfoy, I most certainly did NOT.

I could not just up and leave the school to take a jaunty little stroll through Diagon alley to meet at a nice café the way real business associates could. Being underage just sucked. The Trace meant I couldn't just wait for a Hogsmeade trip and aparate to Gringotts either.

After going over our options, each one seeming as unlikely to work as the last, we finally came up with a solution. It was one I was not thrilled with, but it seemed I had no alternatives. Grabbing a quill and a piece of paper I started my letter "Dear Grandmama,"

Which is how I came to be seated across from one of the most formidable witches waiting for Draco and his father to "accidentally" bump in to us at this restaurant.

It did not take long and Grandmama was waiving them over loudly and boisterously.

"Are you trying to have me murdered by my parents?" I hissed.

Shaking her head at me with a smile as Mr. Malfoy and Draco sat down she said "I know a thing or two about sneaking around behind parents' backs young lady, and be glad I do or you would not be here."

No matter how childish it was I desperately wanted to stick my fingers in my ears and hum loudly so she would not continue to talk about what I think she was talking about. "Grandmama…" I groaned.

Ignoring me she continued "If we were here, and Lucius Malfoy walked in and I snubbed him _that_ would make the front page. An old woman who was foolish enough to marry a Weasley shouting out in public? Well, people just expect uncouth behavior from me, now don't they?

I opened my mouth to protest, but damned if her logic wasn't flawless.

Mr. Malfoy kissed my grandmother on the cheek and took my hand fondly. "Ladies, it is indeed a pleasure, Miss Weasley, I do believe you are well acquainted with my son Draco from school."

"Y… Yes sir." I stammered and blushed. I still was not quite sure why such an important man was bothering with me at all.

Draco just shook his head at me with his usual smirk. He knew my self esteem and conversational issues all too well.

"Alright, Alya, you have summoned us here." my Grandmother began, one we had all ordered. "Suppose you tell me just what all of this is about?"

"Yes, please do," Mr. Malfoy agreed, "and while you are about it, I would like to see this letter from the Spudmore Firebolt company."

I pulled out my satchel and took the file out for him to read over.

"I do believe _I_ should see those first, Alya." Grandmother fussed. Prepared for any eventuality I pulled a second file from the same bag.

"Yes Grandmama, of course, but you always taught me 'guests first' I am only following your tutoring." As much as my parents hated it my Grandmother was very intent on our tutoring in manners. I am reasonably sure I was the only one who took to them. I may not ever have the chance to show it, but I could run an entire manor and direct all of the house elves myself.

For some reason that last thought made me blush looking over at Draco .

This has to stop. No matter what her intentions might be, there is no way the Malfoys are going to be OK with their son being anything more than friends with the daughter of blood traitors. And _my_ parents, I am certain this is the one time my father absolutely will defy his mother!

No, friends. Best friends. Forever. We will go to each other's weddings, to other people, and smile and make toasts and… now why did that make my eyes burn? For crying out loud I am 13 years old! I am not thinking about marriage.

"ALYA!" Draco hissed kicking me under the table.

I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I had not noticed Mr. Malfoy and Grandmother were both looking at me having finished reading. "Oh Merlin, had they asked me a question?

Deflect, deflect, deflect! Professor Moriarity was good for something. Of course Holmes always stopped him in the end…

"Do NOT kick me Draco Malfoy! I am just deep in thought that is all!" I glared at him.

"Did… did you just kick that young lady?" Mr. Malfoy looked at his son astonished.

"I was just stretching my legs and bumped her father, she has overreacted." Draco grinned at me.

Mr. Malfoy looked at him astonished and then back to me. I put on my most angelic smile and promptly kicked Draco back. Mr. Malfoy cleared his throat, there was a sparkle in his eyes, I am pretty sure he wasn't fooled by my peaceful smile.

"I have finished reading your offer. It is more than generous. My company rarely trades on anything over a 2 for 1 conversion, and that is only for very important shareholders, it is usually 4 for 1 especially on such a large profit. You must have really impressed the owner from his private note. Now, how does a young lady at 13 manage that?" Mr. Malfoy sipped his tea waiting for me to answer.

"I would like to know that as well" Grandmother looked at me questioningly.

"Well, to be fair, it started when I was 11, I started investing then and…" I did not realize until I saw the looks on their faces that what I said was… different. Damned that Stickwick for making me feel like I was normal! Stupid goblins, I should have known better. Normal kids didn't start investing at 11. I didn't know what the appropriate age was, but clearly not 11. "I mean… or so, I don't really…" I just blushed.

Draco reached out and took my hand just like always. It calmed me right down, but I still looked at him helplessly, my eyes bright. I absolutely would _not_ cry at this table. I just stared down at the table for a long time. No more talking for me. I had done enough damage. "It is OK, Alya" Draco said soothingly, "no one thinks you are strange. You do have to talk though."

My grandmother patted my knee "Don't worry, Alya, we Black's have always been a bit different. And trust me, Lucius Malfoy knows that very well having married one!"

Married one? Did that make Draco my… cousin or something? Just like always Draco seemed to know what I was thinking almost as soon as I thought it "We are very distantly related, Alya, I am not like your brother or something creepy."

"I am sure I don't know what you mean by that, if you were my brother or cousin as well as my best friend, things would be…" I struggled for the words.

"Related or not does not explain how you came up with the funds necessary to make these investments." Grandmother interrupted.

"Oh you know" said Draco waving his hand imperiously "Spying, blackmailing, the two oldest pureblood professions."

"Draco…" Mr. Malfoy warned.

I turned on him angrily, which I am certain was his entire goal, manipulative bastard "I Have never blackmailed anyone Draco Malfoy! I run a clean business!"

"Spying on people and selling their secrets is a 'clean' business?" he smirked at me.

"I never blackmailed anyone." I said petulantly.

"WHAT business did you have to run that is clean or otherwise." Grandmama asked impatiently.

Mr. Malfoy just looked vaguely amused "You did tell me you would earn the money yourself Miss. Weasley" he said smiling "I never should have doubted you."

Seeing I wasn't going to get away without explaining I started talking about my private investigation business, first finding objects and then doing surveillance work. "So," I concluded "soon I had saved enough for my first few shares, which I bought Christmas my first year at Hogwarts. And soon I had enough saved to buy up my shares."

"Those hazel groves." Mr. Malfoy smiled at me. I nodded smiling to think he had remembered after all of this time. "Well, it is clear now you will need better financial advice." He continued "I would like to offer my own advisor."

"We accept." My grandmother stated. Mr. Malfoy looked at her pleased.

"Draco, why don't you take Alya for ice cream while Cedrella and I chat?" Mr. Malfoy looked over at Draco. I could tell this was not a 'request'.


	19. Advising Ginny

When we finished our "lunch" that day, which concluded at Gringotts bank, naturally, I was in possession of a private owl so I did not have to use school ones and a new financial advisor.

I stroked my new owl's feathers. He was a beautiful golden brown and white with a sweet heart shaped face. I decided to name him Gizmo(*). "Grandmama, how are we going to explain Gizmo to the rest of the family?"

"We are going to tell them the truth, that I purchased him as a gift for you. I do not need to explain myself to anyone." Ahhh my grandmother, she is definitely her own woman.

"Won't it still look suspicious? And even if it wasn't the others would still be hurt." I did not want my brothers and Ginny to feel bad or left out.

Grandmother smiled down at me tenderly, she really is a formidable old witch but she does love all of us equally. Or as equally as she can, I am just closer to her. "I will purchase gifts for the rest of the family to make you feel better. I will purchase their school supplies for next year to ease the burden from your parents. Will that do?"

"Yes Grandmama, you are the best!" I kissed her cheek.

Waving off my kisses, but with a grandmotherly smile she took me back to Hogwarts while Draco went with Mr. Malfoy.

When I got back I went immediately to the library. I had been trying to read more books since talking with Professor Dumbledore. Not that I intended taking up reading as a hobby, but surely somewhere in this vast library was a hobby that would spark my interest.

Yes I had dueling, but that was more to keep my mind and body sharp. Professor Snape had been correct in that I needed something that did not come easily to me. Which is not surprising, he is correct about most things, even if he is a bit unpleasant to some people when he corrects them.

As I was searching in the potions section for inspiration I heard voices on the other side of the bookshelf that I immediately recognized as Hermione Granger and Ginny.

"I just feel so awful about letting that monster out to attack you, Hermione." I could not believe how broken she sounded. I guess I wasn't the only one in the family who was good at masking their true feelings.

"It was _not_ you, Ginny, it was Tom Riddle. I am just glad Harry was able to save you." Should I come out and show myself, or should I remain hidden?

"I am so worried about him Hermione, he keeps risking himself, and whenever he shows up late he is usually covered in blood." Ginny really needed to either get over Harry or do something about it, she was only making herself crazy.

"Harry does have a bit of a hero thing going for him, doesn't he?" Hermione sounded amused and annoyed all at the same time. "But if he didn't you probably wouldn't like him as much as you do."

Ginny laughed nervously at Hermione's words, I didn't know they were so close she had confided her crush on Harry to her. I felt sad and disappointed, but I understood. The Vipers knew more about me now than anyone in my family did, including my twin. I wonder if we will ever be close…

"That is probably true, not that he will ever notice me anyway. I am just Ron's little sister." I could hear Ginny sigh even through the bookshelves.

Feeling like a creeper listening in on their conversation, I made my way around the corner to where they could see me.

"That my dear Ginny is because you act like Ron's little sister." I said coming in to their view.

"That is really rude spying on us Alya Weasley, did you pick that habbit up in Slytherin!?" Ginny was turning bright red.

"If you don't want people to over hear you Ginevra Weasley then you should speak quieter or put up a silencing charm. The library is a public place. Maybe you should go back to the wonderful world of Gryffindors to have this conversation that way you won't have to worry the sneaky snakes of Slytherin and their rudeness." I wasn't so much angry as hurt. Still, these damned Slytherins are having an effect on me, I shouldn't have spoke that much.

As I turned to walk away Ginny called out "Wait Alya, I am sorry, please come back."

I turned around with my arms across my chest just staring at her.

"Alya, please don't be upset with me, I was startled and said something mean, I really am sorry." She did look sorry, but I was sick of my friends and I being called sneaks and worse by the other houses. I wasn't the one sitting in a very public place discussing my issues.

Noting that Hermione was looking back and forth between us concerned I finally said "It's fine Ginny."

I turned to leave again only to have Hermione pipe up "Please join us, Alya. Maybe you can help Ginny figure out how to get Harry to see her as more."

I sighed and sat down.

"First you have got to stop panicking every time he is around, Ginny. That is never going to help." I really did not want to do this now, I should have just snuck away.

"But how do I do that? He makes me so nervous… I just know I am going to say something foolish and then he won't want anything to do with me again." She put her head in her hands.

"You need to start broadening your horizons Ginny, there are more boys out there than Harry Potter you know. Maybe start showing an interest in someone else and he will finally realize there is more to you." I looked up to see Draco, Blaise and Theo come in and sit down a few tables away from us.

Ginny laughed "You are one to talk."

I looked at her frowning "What do you mean?"

"Oh it is so obvious that you like Draco, but I don't see you doing anything about it." Thankfully she had dropped her voice to a whisper.

"Of course I like him Ginny. He is my best friend. It would be a little awkward if I didn't like him." I tried to keep the flush from my cheeks with absolutely no success.

"Sure, but you _like_ like him. And don't try to deny it." Ginny was grinning at me like a fool.

"It… is irrelevant. And even if I did, and I am not saying I do, you know it would never work. And so do we. But at least we get to be best friends. You need to try being Harry's friend. He needs all of those he can get." Ginny looked thoughtful at that.

"And now if you will excuse me, I have a best friend that needs me if his constantly looking over here exasperated is any indication." I almost laughed at the annoyed look Draco was giving me. He really hates sharing.

 **(*)Gizmo was the name of one of the owls who played Hedwig in the films. This is my tribute.**


	20. Convicts Quidditch and Hippogriffs Oh My

**Thank you for the review randopeep, I really appreciate it! As to your snag with the summoning charm, I do not believe, given what we know about the Accio that it would be useful in this setting. Think about it. Items that are summoned travel at the speed of light. While distance may not matter in summoning, that would be deadly should it be used to summon something throughout the halls of Hogwarts, or anywhere else for that matter. It could also be argued that the flying notes at the ministry could be decreased if witches or wizards simply summoned notes to themselves. It would be chaos. There are few examples of this spell being randomly used in Hogwarts or any other crowded place. The only notable exception was when Harry summoned his broom. And look at the damage that caused! And this assumes the student is even proficient in the charm to begin with. In addition Accio is not taught until fourth grade. The reason that Alya does not use it to summon the belongings of others is that most items sold in since the 20** **th** **century include anti-theft spells to prevent anyone but the owner from summoning them. And she would only be able to attempt it because she is advanced. We have not quite reached fourth year yet.**

 **But where magic would seem easier it is on the author to explain why it is not the best solution under the circumstances. I really appreciate your review because it allows me to tighten up an area of my writing that was clearly lacking! Although I dare say this is the longest A.N. explanation I have ever given!**

 **ThinkFemale, I am glad you like her character!**

 **Big Fan, Alya has not been forced to develop any academic interests because of her eidetic memory. Expect that to change fourth year. Alya will be able to further her magical skills in a new and unexpected way!**

 **All of you readers keep me on my toes! Thank you.**

The rest of that year seemed entirely consumed with the stress of a mass murderer on the loose. This Sirius Black was one frightening guy. He managed to get in to the castle and attack the Gryffindor painting. No one seems quite certain how he got in to start with.

Especially by passing the dementors. If they weren't here to keep scary escaped convicts out what were their purpose?! Used as a means to drive a wedge between me Draco? Even though that was done by Draco himself, he would not have got the idea if the horrid creatures were not roaming the grounds!

The second time he broke in it was my brother Ron who woke up to find the madman standing over him with a knife! it was unsettling to be woken up and told to sleep in bags in the Great Hall while the castle was searched for the second time. I thought it unlikely that Sirius Black would have remained in the castle, as he had not done so last time, but no one asked my opinion.

Harry had to be horrified. Maybe even terrified. I felt really badly for him. Ron and Hermione were not exactly rallying around him. I knew that Ginny would not muster the courage to go and comfort him.

I started to make my way over to him to offer a word of encouragement, or sympathy when I felt a hand slip in to mine and a tug. Looking down I noticed Draco had taken the bag next to mine and was holding me back.

"Absolutely not, Weasley. You will be staying right here where we can keep an eye out for you." Theo and Blaise looked just as determined to keep me where I was.

When Draco used my last name he was serious. In fact all three looked serious, but hopefully not completely unreasonable. All I had to do was sit down and quietly but firmly explain my position and I was certain they would see reason.

Oh how I overestimated my powers of persuasion!

I sighed and flopped down on to my bag. "I was just going to…"

"No." Draco interrupted me.

"But…" I tried again.

"Absolutely not." This time it was Blaise.

This was ridiculous "Guys it is perfectly safe for me to…"

"Don't make us restrain you." Theo finished off.

I looked around for help and saw the Vipers snickering at me. No help from _that_ quarter then.

They were all snickering that is except for James he looked angry about something. I wondered if he and Frank had been fighting again. I would ask him about it if I was ever let off of house arrest!

I gave up. They were not going to let this go. Draco took up guard on my right, Theo on my left and Blaise stretched his bag out at my feet.

I shook my head but lay down. "You three are ridiculous. I don't need protection you know!" I harrumphed at them.

"Were you going over there to talk to Saint Potter while a madman may be waiting to sneak past and murder him at this very moment?" Draco looked at me incredulously.

"Yes… but… oh for Merlin's sake the Great Hall is well guarded!" I reminded him with a smile.

"Give it up Weasley" Blaise said snuggling down. "Draco is enough of an arse When you are perfectly walled in and safe. I don't want to know what he would be like if Salazar forbid something happened to you. Just tuck yourself down and act like a _cowardly_ Slytherin for once, would you?"

"Shut up Zabini." Draco growled. I wondered what he was upset about. Being called an arse… or having Blaise suggest Draco did not want something bad to happen to me?

I thought about this right up until I fell asleep with my boys surrounding me determined to keep me safe whether I wanted it or not.

Sometime later that night I woke up to find my pillow had grown much lumpier and warmer in my sleep. Confused I looked up to see I was cradled against Draco's shoulder. Merlin, how do I manage to get myself in to these positions?

I started to move back to my pillow but realized I was restrained. Looking down I saw Draco had an arm around me and was sort of cuddling me against his side like a stuffed kneazel. He must have mistaken me for one in his sleep. I smiled to think that maybe my big tough best friend still slept with a stuffed animal.

I tried to gently pull away when he tightened his grip "Go back to sleep Alya. It is still early."

It was really weird but he didn't sound sleepy at all. Had he been awake this whole time? That couldn't be possible if he had accidentally threw an arm around me in his sleep. Could it? I was so confused.

Giving up and settling back down to go to sleep I laid my head back down on his shoulder. "You go to sleep too." I whispered.

He just squeezed me with the arm he had around my waist.

The next day it was like nothing had happened. The entire school just went on as if an escaped murderer had not just broken in and tried to murder a student!

The next several weeks were stressful and tense. Word had gone around that the hippogriff that had attacked Draco would be put down. I thought it was sad but not entirely unjustified.

As it turned out that was not a popular opinion to share where my brother Ron and his friends could hear me. We had a horrible row about it that ended up with Ron calling me Draco's lap dog again. I restrained myself from punching him again, but only just.

Draco came in with a broken nose that he refused to tell me how he got it. I mended it for him with a frown and a sigh. I knew he had been out with Crabbe and Goyle again.

Mora and I talked about it later. "I am not naïve enough to believe he is completely innocent. Oh Merlin, it was probably why I liked him so much. As a friend that is. I mean, you know, my best friend."

"mmmHmmmm." Was all she commented as she continued to braid my hair before bed.

"But with those two it seems like he shows off a lot more than he normally does." Mora was great at just listening. She let me continue to rant and process the rest of the night.

And then the House Cup Quidditch Final was an absolute fiasco. Our team was out for blood. They committed foul after foul putting us further and further behind.

It was almost a relief when Harry caught the bloody snitch. Not that I wanted Slytherin to lose, I just wanted to stop watching my brother's getting beaten up so badly. I was terrified the whole time one of them would fall!

I had learned my lesson about voicing opinions so when the team came back in, I was very sympathetic.

Merlin, I was growing to hate these Quidditch rivalries.

By the time the term ended I was more than ready. Although I was still unclear on how Ron wound up with a broken leg during the same time as Sirius Black and the hippogriff escaped.

I was even less clear how and why my family seemed so certain now that Sirius Black was innocent. I desperately needed this summer vacation!

 **A.N. Yes, I know in the books they only spent one night in the Great Hall, but in my defense, JKR's heroes were almost all in the same house!**


	21. Hanging Out with Harry

**Chapter 21**

 **A.N. Don't worry, I won't ever stop fleshing out canon characters! I rather like them. In some stories they will be played differently, such as this one. Most of the names and/or characters I use for the Vipers are actual characters from canon or just from the Potterverse in general. "Mora" is her nickname as stated earlier in the story, her name is Morag McDougal. Frank and James belong to the Gamp family. A pureblood family related to the Black's and Prewitt's (for reference Molly Weasley was born a Prewitt). The name "Frank" is for Frank Dillane the brilliant young actor who portrayed young Tom Riddle in such a terrifying fashion yet gets very little renown. And James because of the many Jame's in Harry Potter including Harry's own middle name, and because there should be a "Frank and James" as brothers somewhere. His name was almost Jesse but I decided to go for sticking to my naming tradition from the Potterverse. Esme Fleamont is easy. Fleamont was the first name of Jame's Potters father, the father of Harry. Fleamont and Euphemia Potter died of Dragon Pox before Harry was born. Pria Patel is for the original spelling of the Patil twin's last name in Canon. As there is little real information about Slytherin students I have tried to stick with naming from canon where I can and from the Potterverse where I cannot. Astoria is still a year behind, but will be making an appearance. Daphne, there is just something about the character that does not inspire me. But I am trying to stretch out. Daphne figures as a good friend of Cassie, my character in Dueling Loyalties.**

 **Now as for ages.**

 **I advance my characters one year having them start Hogwarts at 12 instead of 11. This is more of a squick factor on my part. I want them to start teen romances but feel like the ages in Canon were a little off for me.**

 **Everyone in fourth year, except for Alya, are 14 years of age. Alya is 13. When she met Lucius Malfoy and he commented that she was awfully cynical for an 11 year old this was prior to her August birthday which would have made her 12. When she starts Hogwarts she is 12. She states she has been in to investing since age 11, which is true but she did not invest money until age 12. She of course is younger than the others in her year due to being advanced a grade. Any time I referred to her as older than she is I was working on Dueling Loyalties and the character of Cassandra Taylor just prior and mistyped.**

 **I hope that clears up the confusing age issue.**

I was happily relaxed in "our" car on the train. The Vipers may not have the clout of Malfoy's gang, but we do alright. One of those perks was as soon as we decided a train car was ours, it just… was. No one argued with us.

Draco may be my best friend, but we give each other space to be with our other friends. Sometimes I hated that Daphne and Pansy were in the same car with him, but I really had no right to complain. After all, I was in a car with Frank and James.

And I had to admit that either Pansy or Daphne would be a better choice for him for a marriage contract. I knew that no matter what my grandmother thought there was no way that contract was going to go the way she wanted. Mr. Malfoy may be helpful to me, but that is just because he is nice.

Well, nice to me anyway. I knew how ruthless he could be to his political enemies. And I knew how he felt about non-purebloods. It would be impossible _not_ to know these things, the papers were full of articles about him, and he was not ashamed of his beliefs. Right or wrong you had to admire someone who was not afraid to have a controversial opinion. I was afraid sometimes to like a different Quidditch team!

I did hope maybe one day that maybe I could work for Malfoy Industries. That maybe Mr. Malfoy would even think about mentoring me so I could learn from the best.

But anything else? That was not going to happen. I know that when Draco gets a girlfriend they won't want him to keep hanging out with me. Especially if it is Pansy or Daphne.

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I had not seen Jamed watching me. I smiled at him "How's it going Watson?" James had really liked the nickname when I first said it to him.

"Good… say Sherly… can I ask what is going on between you and Malfoy?" yeah he had started calling me "Sherly" for a more feminine version of Sherlock I suppose.

I was surprised he had to ask "James, you know Malfoy is my friend. My best friend even."

Pria pouted a little, she was so sensitive. I grabbed her hand "Best _guy_ friend that is." She smiled brightly, it didn't matter if it wasn't true he was my best friend period, but it made Pria happy so I was OK with it. Insecurity, thy name is Pria Patel!

"Yeah, but, he makes it look sometimes like there is something else…" James was twisting his hands in that way he does when he is nervous.

"Something else like… what?" I was genuinely confused.

Mora and Esme laughed "Something else like his _girlfriend_!" Esme giggled when she said this. GIGGLED. Oh that was not good.

"Draco does not treat me like a girlfriend. He is just… worried about me, that's all." The Vipers were being silly.

"Yeah, worried you will get another boyfriend." Frank laughed. Et tu Frank? Et tu?

"No, that is not it. You all are just being silly." Except I had the feeling the way James was looking at me he wasn't goofing around.

"Maybe…" he started and then cleared his throat "maybe some time this summer we can go to Forescue's for ice cream?"

I was a little astonished. Did he mean like a ' _date_ ' date? From the way he was blushing I guessed he did. "Yeah.. OK." I said smiling. I was pretty impressed, no way could I have done that in front of everyone!

James suddenly perked up. "OK, great, I will owl you."

We settled back to enjoy the rest of the train ride home. I got up once to go visit Draco and remind him that we were supposed to do our school shopping together this year.

Pansy sneered at us "I don't know why you have to go with _her_ , Draco, I would be happy to go with you."

Draco just ignored her and said he would owl me to settle on times.

About two weeks after we got home James owled me. I let my parents know why he was owling and what he wanted. They were very oddly happy.

Mum pinched my cheeks "Of course you can meet up with James. He is such a lovely boy we should have his family over for tea!"

"Mum… please don't embarrass me." I pleaded. Families over? Lovely boy? No way was I allowing my mother to start planning a spring wedding!

"You are planning to meet this boy alone?" Dad asked. Ahhh there is my over bearing and ridiculously over protective father.

"I… think so Dad. I mean, none of the other Vipers said anything about going. Dad rolled his eyes at our group's name for ourselves.

"No one on one dates until you are 16 Alya. You may go but one of your brothers goes with you." He had his no nonsense, we are not discussing this tone.

I buried my face in my hands. "uggghhh Dad…."

"Don't worry Alya." Ron spoke up from behind me looking a little sheepish. "I can always go grab Harry and we can escort you and James. We need to check on him anyway."

I was a little skeptical "Why would you want to go anywhere with me, Ron?"

Looking embarrassed he said "I… have been a little hard on you, I thought this might be a good way to… I don't know… make it up to you?"

Mum and Dad looked disgustingly pleased by this as well. They looked at me expectantly. Did they think I was going to jump up and hug it out with Ron?

"Thanks Ron, I appreciate it." Was all I said, but Ron looked happy. Maybe he was finally starting to understand me a little.

Dad perked up, "Well this is as good a time to tell you as any! I managed to get us all tickets to the World Cup. Harry and Hermione too." He smiled "Even Bill and Charley will be joining us!"

There was no settling the house down after that! We found out Mum had already sent a muggle mail to Harry to invite him.

So the family went to pick up Harry, I did not go. I am not prejudiced against muggles, but these relatives of Harry's… ugh… they made me see why others of our kind were!

Fred and George got chewed out for ruining muggle-wizard relations by dropping a ton-tongue toffee that Harry's creepy bully cousin ate. Harry and I grinned at each other when I heard the whole story.

"Let's go out for a walk Harry and let the parents hash this out with my wayward brothers" I took Harry outside I had not noticed I was walking towards my tree house, but I pretty much go there on auto "Thanks for being here, Harry. I need some buffer between me and this family!" I shook my head.

"Glad to be here" he smiled at me. "And I hear Ron and I are escorting you in to town for a date. He is pretty happy. I think he was worried you were dating Malfoy!"

"No. Draco and I are just friends. Best friends, but still just friends." Why did that thought make me sad? It wasn't the first time recently I felt that way either.

Harry gave me a weird speculative look. "OK. I am still not sure how someone as nice as you is best friends with Malfoy."

Nice? I laughed "Yeah, I get that a lot. If by 'a lot' you mean meant never. Mostly people think Draco is too good for me."

Harry frowned. "I can't imagine anyone thinking that. You are pretty amazing. Not everyone would sneak down in to the Chamber and cast curses at a giant basilisk to help me."

I didn't realize he had noticed he never mentioned it. Not that we talked much. I motioned up at my tree house "Want to go in?"

When we were inside he looked around amazed. It made me blush "This is brilliant Alya, did Bill or Charley make this for you?"

"Oh, no" I blushed even more "I made this myself."

"Wow, they are right you are as smart as Hermione!" he was looking at me in awe.

"Oh, no, I am not. I just never forget anything so it makes tests and practicing spells easier. Hermione would have been moved up a level I am sure if she had not been muggleborn." I know my limitations.

I had not realized how that must have sounded until Harry frowned at me "What is that supposed to mean? Hermione is brilliant no matter who her parents are!"

"Oh, Harry, I didn't mean it like it sounded. I meant she did not just need to learn spells, she needed to learn what it means to be a witch. Like laws and customs and stuff that we get from our parents." This seemed to satisfy him.

"I didn't realize you knew I went to save Ginny." I changed the subject.

"I could see you in the shadows casting spells. Even after you got Ginny to safety. Plus Ron was annoyed you left him there." We both laughed at that.

It was nice just to relax and chat we stayed there for several hours talking.


	22. The World Cup

**The reason Ginny has not confronted Alya about the ball yet is that the ball happens 4th year. So not quite there yet, it will happen in a few chapters. But being one of many sisters I can tell you rude is how we play the game. Or maybe that is just MY terribly rude sisters...**

The date with James was nice. Harry and Ron sat at another table to give us privacy. It wasn't at all awkward because James and I knew each other so well. We chatted about detective books, there were some great wizard detective stories too! And how maybe one day he wanted to be a real detective for the Magical law enforcement division. Or maybe even an Auror.

I told him some day maybe I would do private investigator work. I wasn't sure I really wanted to work for the Ministry where so many of my family and my parent's friends were.

I found out James and his family are also going to the World Cup. We made plans to meet up there.

When we were finished with our date, which had been very nice, James kissed me on the cheek making me blush. Harry and Ron with their arms crossed glaring at him made me laugh.

We spent the next several weeks until the World Cup owling each other. James said he had something important to ask me at the game. I was pretty sure he wanted to make us official before we went back to school.

I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about that. I like James a lot but… I sighed to myself. I need to take the advice I gave Ginny and start broadening my horizons instead of sitting around waiting for the impossible.

That night Percy and I had a long conversation about his newest report on standardizing cauldron thicknesses.

"There have been three cauldron explosions this year alone that caused severe burns to children." Percy was telling me. We tried to ignore the rest of the family who were rolling their eyes.

I was very happy to have Bill and Charlie home. Charlie scooped me up and spun me around. "How is my second favorite serpent?" he asked pinching my cheek.

"Charlie Weasley you are the worst! Put me down!" I laughed.

"That's right, Charlie, Alya is a big girl now" Fred said winking at me.

"With a boyfriend and everything." George piped up.

I just blushed when Charlie and Bill made threats against the life of anyone who touched me in a way they didn't like.

I was on pins and needles about the entire affair until the morning of the World Cup. I woke up that morning so excited I almost joined the conversation at the breakfast table!

Harry was pretty excited too. He had never been to a big sports game and had never travelled by portkey.

When we got to the portkey Dad's co-worker Amos Diggory and his son Cedric were there. He was a very handsome Hufflepuff who would be going in to sixth year this year. Hermione and Ginny were clearly very impressed with Cedric's looks. They were completely tongue tied.

Cedric looked down at me and smiled "Hey, aren't you Padma's cousin Pria's friend? She is good friends with the Ravenclaw seeker Cho, right?"

"Yes, Pria and I are good friends. I really don't know Padma or Cho very well, but Pria is pretty close to both of them." Cedric and I walked along talking about the coming year's Quidditch and what each house's chances were.

"How do you think the Slytherin team will get on now that Flint has finally graduated?" Cedric asked.

None of us liked to think about how Flint was forced to repeat a year. "I think we will still be OK, I am pretty sure Graham Montague will be taking over."

We continued on like this until we got to the portkey. Harry was asking about a manky old boot making Cedric and I smile at each other. I noticed Cedric's smile was very understanding. He was sure different than being here with a Slytherin boy. Any one of them would be happy to make fun of Harry for not knowing what a portkey was.

When we got to the Tillenium Stadium grounds the Diggory's went their own way. Ginny and Hermione wanted to know how I got up the nerve to speak to Cedric like that.

"Cedric is just a boy, besides he is not as handsome as… JAMES!" I called out seeing my (maybe) boyfriend approaching us.

"That is very flattering of you to say, Alya." James said with a smile as he kissed my cheek. Taking my hand he led me to where our tents were. "I tried to get the space right next to yours but it was taken. I managed to get us right across." He pointed at a tent across the small dirt road from ours.

"That's great James!" he really was considerate.

"Well, I wouldn't want to be too far from my new girlfriend, right?" he said that with a smile but he looked nervous.

"Is that your not so subtle way of asking me to be your girlfriend?" I bumped his shoulder with mine.

"Only if you say yes, if you say no then it was a terrible prank that Frank put me up to." His eyes were twinkling down at me.

"I am saying yes, but we have to work on your subtlety, Watson!" I shook my head at him with a sigh.

"You can work on any of my character flaws you find." He grinned.

We spent that whole day hanging out with my family and Frank. I met their parents who were every bit as embarrassing to James as mine were to me.

Before the first game began James and I went to get Irish themed souvenirs. He kept hold of my hand. On our way back I was happy to see Draco and Mr. Malfoy had stopped by our section. He must have been looking for me.

I dragged James behind me by the hand, which he was gripping unusually firmly at the moment. I tried not to sigh. I knew how he intimidated he was by my friendship with Draco. But he would get past it.

Draco sneered up at everyone "We are in the minister's box, by personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge"

Mr. Malfoy sneered "Don't boast Draco, there's no need with these people."

Mr. Malfoy, before we left was suddenly holding Harry back with his silver snake head walking stick "Do enjoy yourself won't you? While you can?"

I gasped. Why was he saying these things? Had my family taunted Draco or something? I hadn't heard them say anything.

Draco turned around when he heard me gasp. He looked happy to see me and then he looked down. When he saw my hand clasped in James' hand he froze. Without a word he turned and walked away.

Mr. Malfoy turned and looked down at me. "Miss Weasley." He greeted me as though nothing were wrong at all. I couldn't help but smile.

"Mr. Malfoy, a pleasure as always." If he was treating me normally, Draco would come around I knew he would. He lightly touched my shoulder on his way past.

Looking in to the stands the first thing I noticed was my entire family plus friends glaring down at me.

That should have been a clue that the rest of this game was not going to go any better.

The Irish won, that was huge. We celebrated half the night while teasing Ron about his love affair with Viktor Krum. My father had gone out to see Ministry friends, trusting us to behave.

Later, James had gone back to his family's tent when my father came in telling us we needed to get out and hide. The tone of his voice was frightened enough that we didn't argue.

When we left the tent and went to where Dad was pointing we could see a family of muggles suspended in the air in the distance. The mother was upside down and we could see her knickers because her dress had fallen down inside out.

As we ran up in the distance I could see a pale blonde head. Without thinking I ran straight for him and threw my arms around Draco's neck.

"Shhhh… it's OK." He whispered in to my hair. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Everyone else caught up with us just then.

"Get your fucking hands off of my sister Malfoy." Ron growled at Draco.

"Language, Weasley," said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. "Hadn't you better worry more about hurrying along, now? Other than where my hands are on your sister?" His hands weren't anywhere inappropriate why did he have to rise to the bait? "You wouldn't like Granger spotted, would you?"

I shuddered and burrowed closer to him.

Draco stroked my back to keep me calm. It made me feel safer to have him here. It probably made me a bad girlfriend but in that moment I knew I would not have felt as safe with James.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Hermione I couldn't see her but her voice was indignant.

"Granger, they're after Muggles," said Malfoy. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around . . . they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."

"Draco" I whispered. He knew I was scared and squeezed me against him.

"Hermione's a witch," Harry snarled.

"Have it your own way, Potter," said Malfoy, gripping me tighter. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

"You watch your mouth! And get your hands off of my sister." shouted Ron.

"It seems like Alya doesn't mind my hands on her." I could hear the sneer in Draco's voice. I knew I should put a stop to this fight but I just couldn't look up.

"Never mind, Ron, he isn't doing anything inappropriate to Alya." said Hermione quickly.

Looking up I could see her seizing Ron's arm to restrain him as he took a step toward Draco.

There came a bang from the other side of the trees that was louder than anything they had heard. Several people nearby screamed. Draco chuckled softly.

"Scare easily, don't they?" he said lazily. "I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to... trying to rescue the Muggles?"

"Where're your parents?" said Harry, his temper rising. "Out there wearing masks, are they?"

"NO!" I shouted, "They wouldn't do that. Please. Can we just stop fighting?"

Draco turned his face to Harry, still smiling.

"Well . . . if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"

"Alya, come now. We need to go where Dad told us to wait for him." Ron was furious. I didn't care I didn't want to go.

"It's alright Alya, go with them. I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you." Draco whispered to me.

I looked up at him and I was reassured by what I saw. He was so calm.

I nodded finally and left with the others. I really had not wanted to. "I will owl you." I called over my shoulder.

That night was a horror. Harry got lost, a bunch of Ministry people thought one of us had cast the Dark Mark.

On top of all of that Ron had yelled at me for running to Draco and upset the rest of the family. It wasn't until Charlie told him to shut it that he quieted down.

Charlie let me sleep snuggled against him. I found his snoring reassuring.

When we made it back home the next day Mum was beside herself. She was so upset at having yelled at Fred and George before she left that she kept hugging them crying.

I went upstairs to Gizmo to send a letter to Draco to let him know I was alright.

I sent one to James next. I had not got a chance to say good bye to him before we ran.

The newspapers had images of the Dark Mark across the front page. It was awful looking. I knew my family was of the opinion the Malfoy's were out there mixed in the mess. They weren't exactly subtle about it.

When Ron started in again about how I had ran to Draco for comfort and not family Mum just put her hand up and told him to be quiet.

 **JK Rowling Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Pg. 122**


	23. The Start of Year Four

**RAE RAE: That was a reasonable request. Done. I usually ignore things like that but your review was so lovely I went in and fixed. I hope it is more clear now**

When school resumed the Vipers returned to bad news for the Slytherin Quidditch team. And the rest of the teams as well, although I did not care about them.

The Quidditch games were to be cancelled due to something called "The Tri-Wizard Tournament". It was some sort of interschool bonding event with a touch of blood curdling terror if Dumbledore's words were to be believed.

Graham Montague had indeed taken over as captain just as I had predicted. And Graham was furious that his first year as Captain had been cancelled.

There was a bit of excitement when the other students arrived. The boys at the Slytherin table were more than a bit interested in what the Beauxbaton girls had to offer.

And that included James. I was more than a little upset that he was ogling the girls who came in with butterflies and oohs and ahhs. If he were supposed to be MY boyfriend, shouldn't he restrain himself? At least in front of me?

Momentarily I considered going silly for the Durmstrang boys to teach him a lesson, but discarded the idea as being immature. It was quite the coup when the Durmstrang boys sat with us Slytherins. I may not be immature enough to taunt my boyfriend, but that same maturity did _not_ extend to my brother.

When I saw Ron was looking jealous that the famous Viktor Krum and his friends were sitting with the Slytherins I could not resist sticking my tongue out at him.

From listening to their talk I discovered that the Durmstrang boys would shadow Slytherin and Beauxbaton's girls would shadow Ravenclaw. It was obvious after listening to their conversation the reason Durmstrang would shadow Slytherin. Their school did not admit muggleborn so their headmaster Karkaroff would not want them 'polluted' with any house that did.

But why would they stick Ravenclaw with those… fluffy French girls? It was too much really. But at least they hadn't stuck Slytherin's with us!

When I mentioned this out loud Pria and Esme laughed.

"It sounds like you are jealous, Alya." Mora said.

"As if Alya has anything to be jealous of." James put an arm around my waist "We all know that she is worth ten of those Beauxbaton girls."

Even though I knew James was grossly exaggerating it did make me feel a little better.

"What are we going to do to celebrate your birthday this year, Alya?" Even though my birthday was in August several weeks earlier, the Vipers always did something to celebrate when they returned to school.

It made me feel special. At home I celebrated as a twin. Here I was celebrated as an individual

"Hogsmeade and the Three Broomsticks as usual." It may not have been imaginative but I really enjoyed the chance to just get away and spend time with my friends.

Mora shook her head. "You are too predictable Alya. Good thing for you we like predictable!"

Laughing I threw a chunk of my dinner roll at Mora "I am not predictable, I just like things to be…."

"Predictable?" offered Draco.

"Oh hush!" the next chunk of roll bounced off of Draco's chest.

That night before going to bed she heard a tap at her bedroom window. It was Gizmo with a letter for me. He had standing instructions that unless it was an emergency he was only to deliver my letters at night.

Opening it I was surprised to see it was from my grandmother. It advised she would be picking me up that weekend for a trip to Diagon Alley for lunch. This was code for "We need to talk about your future." If I was not mistaken, and she doubted that I was.

The next day I pulled Draco aside "Is your father planning to meet my grandmother for lunch this weekend?"

Draco held up his own letter. "So it would seem."

James was watching the two of us. I knew he did not know what we were talking about but he did not like the way I kept secrets with Draco. After breakfast before we went to our first class he confronted me about it. "You say Malfoy is just your friend, but you share an awful lot of secret conversations with him."

"I… I don't know what you mean." I hedged.

"You are going to tell me you and Malfoy did not have a whispered conversation this morning." He had stopped in the hall to hash the issue out.

"James, you know that Draco is my best friend. You knew this before you asked me to be your girlfriend. Don't you share things with Frank that you don't tell me about?" I was afraid that James was going to demand she choose between them.

"Frank is not an unrelated girl, it is not the same." He was starting to get worked up I could tell.

"What is it you want from me? Are you asking me to choose between my best friend and my boyfriend?" It was best to know up front where this was leading.

"And if you were asked to choose, who would you side with?" he was looking more serious by the moment.

"I would side with the one who did not ask me to choose and just accepted me for who I am James. So again, is that what you are asking?" I was not quite certain what she wanted the answer to be.

"I am asking you not to keep secrets, that is all." His arms were crossed and I could tell he was not budging on this.

I could not share everything but telling him about my luncheon seemed harmless. I pulled out my letter and handed it to him. "This was what our conversation was about, James. A luncheon with my grandmother, are you planning to ask me to choose between her and you?" Deflect, deflect, deflect.

"No, of course not. I'm sorry, it is just I don't know how to compete with Malfoy." James looked miserable about his confession.

"No one is asking you to compete with him, James. In fact I am very seriously asking you _not_ to compete with him for my attention." I sighed.

"Alright," he kissed my forehead "if you tell me nothing is going on I trust you."

"The only thing going on is lunch with my grandmother. She invited Mr. Malfoy and Draco to go with us because my family does not approve of my friendship with him, unlike they approve of you." Hopefully that would be enough to reassure him.

It seemed to work since he grabbed my hand once again to walk with me to class.

That weekend I was taken by one of my grandmother's house elves to Rosa Lee Teabag where her grandmother, Draco and Mr. Malfoy were already waiting for her.

Ugh the place was as frilly and silly as Madame Pudifoot's. The first time I got whacked in the head with some stupid card or shot by a fake cupid I was going to start hexing everything in sight.

Smiling at them I sat down. I looked forward to these clandestine meetings. They felt thrilling and exciting and just a bit dangerous.

After ordering my tea I looked to my grandmother. I knew the old witch would not say a single thing until she was ready.

Finally grandmama looked up from her tea to Lucius Malfoy and seemed to be considering her next words.

"It would seem your investments have paid off." Grandmother began carefully.

I was confused. "I know grandmamma, we discussed this last time."

"Do not get cocky with me young lady, I know perfectly well what we discussed last time." Telling her that I was confused not cocky would not help.

"I am sorry grandmamma." I looked at the table quietly.

Clearing his throat Mr. Malfoy clarified "They have paid off again, Alya."

"Again? I don't understand." What were they trying to get at?

"When both teams rode the Firebolt at the infamous World Cup this year, the stocks have increased in value tenfold. It won't last of course, and you absolutely must consider diversifying now that your first quarter is up." My ears were ringing.

"Ten… but then that means the two hundred thousand I have is now worth…" I swallowed hard. There was no way this could be true…

"You are now worth two million dollars Alya." Grandmother said.


	24. The First Task Confrontation

Grandmama took over the management of my financial affairs. I was way out of my depth. To be realistic I was out of my element when it reached two hundred thousand. I have no idea how to handle this kind of money! As it turns out I am far betting at making it than maintaining it.

And really, the whole thing was a fluke. Any number of things could have gone wrong from striking goblins to a complete disinterest in the broom. It is incredibly expensive.

But now I am "diversified" as they say. I have holdings in shipping companies and even Malfoy Industries like I always wanted. And enough cushion money that I can spend on almost anything I want. I wonder if I can get the school to pretend I won some kind of scholarship so that I can buy my own school supplies. Probably not, it seems like the kind of thing it is hard to get people to lie about.

We had very few classes with the students of Durmstrang or Beauxbatons because most of them were so much older, but we did have a couple. Nikola was in our year; his older brother was putting his name in the Goblet. Nikola really hoped he did not get the spot.

And there was Camille. Ugh, beautiful blonde, although not as beautiful as the one everyone was saying must be part veela and her little sister, she was beautiful in a harsh snotty sort of way. Gorgeous sleek black hair, not like my wavy mess. Big dark brown eyes. Of course _she_ immediately fell in with Pansy and her crowd. Why couldn't she stay with the Ravenclaw or Beauxbaton girls? Probably because they wouldn't have her…

She was at once all over Draco. Not that this was the reason I hated her. Oh no. She looked down on everyone who was not dressed in the latest designer fashions.

It might have been a little bit because she and James were partnered up in potions. He was _my_ potions partner and _my_ boyfriend. And Professor Snape was supposed to be… well _my_ potions Professor. When he told me to move that first day and partnered me with Millicent Balstrode I was angry enough to set my potion ingredients on fire. Except I did that on accident, not that it mattered to Professor Snape who accused me of having a tantrum. Which earned me a week's worth of detention much to that snobby witche's amusement. Not that Millie bothered me, she looked big and mean but she was actually very smart.

She made me feel like wearing expensive clothes for the first time. I had vowed never to waste my money on frivolous non sense, but I so wanted to show her up!

I wrote my grandmother at once. There was no way this snobby French witch was going to show me up at my own Ball!

Grandmother took me out shopping that weekend, and Ginny as well since Ginny also had a date to the ball. With Neville Longbottom! I was surprised but Neville seemed really sweet. I was just surprised because I didn't think that Ginny would date anyone who wasn't "the Chosen One".

The gown she helped me choose was scandalously low cut. As in to the waist and I would have to use magic to keep it decent. It was black chiffon with a dramatic collar and no back. We also chose some nice pieces of jewelry to go with it.

Ginny opted for something less showing. A pretty pink and pale green dress that made her cheeks blush adorably. She also took home some lovely jewelry gifts from my grandmother.

Our final stop was to pick out some nice dress robes for Ron. He had not come with us, but grandmother had all of his measurements.

The Chosen One who was somehow illicitly chosen as a Champion, which should not have been possible because Cedric had already been chosen, (and I got to cheer loudly for him which made him turn and smile at me!) But also because at fifteen he should not have been allowed to compete at all.

(a.n. please see all of my previous notes on ages before you point out that in canon Harry is fourteen, thanks!)

Draco made all of these buttons in support of Cedric, but then I noticed they changed to say "Potter Stinks". My best friend was the very soul of immature taunts.

The one odd thing that did happen at this time was Ron suddenly wanted to start hanging around with me. Mostly so that he could complain about Harry. When I suggested he start hanging around with Draco since the two now had so much in common I received a glare for my efforts.

Still, it was nice to have my brother pay attention to me. He went with me and James to Hogsmeade, even though it made Draco glare and refuse to come with us. Come to think of it that may have been the entire reason my brother suddenly wanted to go on my dates…

One day much to our surprise, Charlie showed up! I was incredibly excited to have my older brother around. Except Camille started trying to chat him up immediately.

Absolutely not. She was partnered with my boyfriend, and trying to sink her nasty little claws in to my best friend. There was no way she was getting her hooks in to my brother!

One day while Charlie, Ron and I had gone to Hogsmeade that sneaky little witch came sliding in to a chair at our table batting her stupid eyelashes at Charlie.

"You are such a vonderful addition to our leetle competion Charlie. There ees no reason for you to come to 'Ogsmeade with these nobodies. You are velcome at our table."

I was ready to hex her in to oblivion when Charlie turned a cold stare on her. "Did you just call my brother and sister 'nobodies' young lady? I have no interest in spending my day with silly little girls who do not have the manners not to insult their hosts." Charlie turned his back on her dismissively.

She got up to storm off in a huff when Charlie said in a horribly loud stage whisper and winking at me "Can you imagine what mum would say if I brought home some little trollop like that?" he shuddered dramatically.

I. Love. My. Brothers!

I really felt like Ron and I had grown much closer in this time. We even met up with Mum and Dad to watch the first task together. James and I went together of course and Ron was with the two of us, but it felt nice to have him there and wanting to hang out with me. I couldn't wait to show him the dress robes I had got for him!

Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were there as well with Draco. It was such a nice thing to see them. I owed Mr. Malfoy so much! As we were all making our way towards the stadiums, I categorically refused to sit in the Gryffindor section. Mum and Dad didn't see the big deal, but Ron stuck up for me and suggested we sit with the Hufflepuffs to show our support for Cedric. I was surprised he did not want to support Harry, but I figured he was just trying to be nice to me.

The Malfoys joined us as well. I was very happy I could spend my time with Draco that way!

And James of course, but I was always allowed to hang out with James.

As we were making our way to the stadium Camille approached our group. I thought she was going straight for Draco, but she stopped in front of me and James.

Kissing James on the cheek she gushed "Oh James, zank you so much for zee information you gave me the other day. Eeet vas so 'elpful to Fleur!"

I was really going to hex this girl. Maybe some nice caterpillar eyebrows would teach her to keep her hands and lips off of my boyfriend?

I was slowly reaching for my wand when I felt a hand grasp my wrist. "Don't do it." Draco hissed at me "do you want to be in detention forever?"

I dropped my wand hand after giving his hand a squeeze to let him know I understood.

I continued on my way, completely shrugging off James hand on my elbow. "Alya, that wasn't what it looked like…"

"Oh, and what did it look like exactly, James? That you are on friendly enough terms to be kissing the enemy, or that you gave the enemy helpful information?" I should have been embarrassed. I really have no idea where this sudden chatty streak came from.

"No, she just asked about your brother, the dragon tamer one." He tried to explain.

"You TOLD her he is a dragon tamer, well, that was damned helpful I am sure in telling them what the first task would be." James looked a little ashamed when I said that. Good. He should, the traitor!

It wasn't long before my father and Mr. Malfoy were at it. There may have been some talk about Harry being fried to a crisp when his turn came up that caused it. Or perhaps it was the fact that the Malfoy's stated they had specifically bet against Harry to complete the task.

Whatever it was that set them off, in the end I was the one who ended up screwed because of it.

"Do not blame me, Weasley, that you do not know how to back a winner. At least one member of your family has financial sense." It did not occur to me until later that he could have meant grandmamma, I was so certain that I was caught out it was written all over my face as I stared at the two men in horror.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Dad looked me straight in the eye. "What has Alya done now?"

"Have you no faith in your children Weasley? I meant your mother, clearly." Mr. Malfoy sneered.

"Clearly not, from the look on Alya's face. Alya, would you care to explain?" this was it. I was the worst Slytherin ever. I never should have shown that I was guilty.

Sighing I looked at my father "I have made a few small investments with my money. Some of them have done well."

He looked amused, oh good he was not as angry as I had feared "So earned yourself a bit of pocket change, did you? I am not pleased that you held this from me, and of course these stocks will have to be sold at once and the money put towards your education. How much are we talking? Ten galleons?"

I shook my head. "More than ten? Surely not as many as a hundred?!" I could tell he was teasing me at what I thought 'more' was.

"No Dad, more than a hundred…" this was not going to go well for me.

"More… more than a hundred?" he looked stunned "How much more?"

"At my last financial letter it was just over two million." Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn't I be proud of what I had done?

"Two… million. Is this some sort of joke? It is not very funny Alya." My father was going very red in the face. I think he believed I was having him on.

"No father, I really have that much money in stocks. And they were diversified so they can't all be sold and…" I should not be embarrassed darn it!

"You must be very proud to have a child who has exceeded you in every possible way, Weasley." Oh why couldn't Mr. Malfoy just stop talking?

"You could not have done this alone. Was it you, Malfoy who has corrupted my daughter?" Father was livid.

"I? No. That would be your mother. If you wish to call financial success 'corruption' that is. This must be a Weasley issue." Oh that damned sneer was not helping! "But I would be quite pleased to have Alya in my family. In fact, isn't your mother the legal head of your house? I am certain that contracts could be arranged."

I knew he was just taunting my father, but James looked furious.

Draco looked… I don't know, I could not read his expression.


	25. The Yule Ball

**Image of Alya's gown can be found on my Imgur page imgurDOTcom/56UlAxl**

My grandmother owled me to assure me she had the rest of the family well in hand. She said that she had taken full responsibility for hiding my investing from them and that it had all been her idea. As much as I hated her taking the blame for me, I was pretty relieved. The holidays around home were bad enough!

If only all of my problems were so easily solved.

It took me two weeks to convince James that my impending marriage to Draco Malfoy was not a reality. It was made even more difficult by the fact that he spent the first week avoiding me and the second week apologizing for avoiding me the first week!

Finally we patched everything up and managed to color coordinate our Yule Ball outfits. This was pretty easy since I was wearing all black, we just matched my corsage to his boutonniere and we were done.

During this time I also tried to connect with Ron. I wanted to give him the dress robes I purchased for him. I saw the ones Mum sent and they were not good. Ron would be humiliated showing up in those. After our last several weeks of bonding I wanted him to know how much I really appreciated him!

I finally found Ron walking with Harry and Hermione. I was so glad, it looked like Harry and Ron had made up!

Hermione was as well I could hear her chatting about it with Ron. "I am awfully glad you and Harry are friends again Ron. I got tired of feeling like an owl!"

"Well," Ron said casually "at least you weren't feeling like a snake. I hung out with those Slytherins after all."

I could not believe what I was hearing. He was only hanging out with me because he was on the outs with Harry? I felt so stupid.

"I should have known Ronald Weasley, I really should have." I hoped my voice didn't sound like I was close to tears. I was, but I didn't want my idiot brother to know that.

"No, Alya… wait, I didn't mean…" How dare he try to excuse this?! "

"Save it Ron. Just forget it." I threw the wrapped bundle with his dress robes on the ground and cast a very loud and angry "incendio" on them. If that was the way he was going to be he did not deserve presents from me.

"Even if you did not mean me you meant my boyfriend and friends who were very kind to you when you had no one else. Good day, Harry, Hermione." I stormed off. Foul git could just wear the robes Mum sent him!

The night of the Yule Ball was wonderful. It was a little less wonderful that Draco was taking that awful Camille. But I was determined to have a good night no matter what.

Pria, Mora and Esme all helped me to get ready. I would feel a lot better if they were going but no one had asked them.

Looking in the full length mirror with my jade jewelry that perfectly matched the Slytherin colors and my gown I felt like a princess. A dark, maybe teensy bit slutty princess, but a princess none the less. If my parents ever saw this gown I was done for. I knew my brothers would tell them but for tonight I was going to get away with dressing to impress.

We all decided to leave my hair down in waves. I knew everyone else would have theirs up in extravagant styles, so leaving it down would set me apart.

It appeared to have worked. When James saw me his eyes grew very round and he smiled at me like I was the most beautiful girl in the room. Draco looked like he had just been side apparated without his permission. Shocked and slightly queasy. I hoped he wasn't going to make a scene. He is my best friend not my father, darned it!

When Camille narrowed her eyes jealously I felt wonderfully triumphant.

We hit the dance floor as soon as the Champions had finished starting us off. I was a little surprised to see Hermione with Viktor Krum, well, not so much that she was here with _him_ , only that she was here at all. Balls and fancy gowns did not seem like something she would enjoy. But she looked very happy with Viktor. Ron and Harry looked miserable with their dates. Which is too bad because Padma and Parvati were lovely girls and they looked beautiful. My brother and his friend are twits.

But at least my brother the twit looked the part. Those robes were just as awful on him as they were in the box. If he paid even the slightest bit of attention in transfiguration he could have made them look classic instead of dated. But then if he had not been an arse to me he would have had nice robes.

James noticed me smiling wickedly at my brother and asked what was going on. Ahhh, he knew me so well. I explained about the robes and what I had heard Ron saying.

"That arse! As if I wanted him on every date with us! And yet we took him and were nice. I am glad you burned up his robes, only next time? Make sure he sees them!" You have to love Slytherins we were always happy to help one another to get revenge!

"Would you like some punch?" James asked me after a particularly energetic dance.

"Yes please," I smiled up at him. He was always so considerate!

I sat down next to Percy. "Hey Perce!" I said smiling.

He did not smile, he looked very upset as he eyed me up and down. He was probably about to take me to task for lying to Mum and Dad about my investments. I sighed waiting for the lecture.

"Alya Weasley what in the name of Merlin's beard are you wearing?!" Oh, right the low cut dress.

"It is a ball gown Percy, and there are others here wearing for more revealing gowns." I pouted that always worked with him before.

"The other young… _ladies_ … are not my sister. I am here as a representative of Mr. Crouch, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement . How do you think it reflects on me or the department if you do not dress with decorum?" He looked at me as if I had let him down.

I felt awful "I am sorry Percy, I can leave early if it makes you feel better."

I heard from behind me "You will do no such thing and if Weasley here doesn't like it he can take it up with your grandmother. She is after all the one who bought you the dress, yes?" Ahhh Draco, always there for me.

"I hardly see how this concerns _you_ , Malfoy." Percy said with that imperious tone that he does so well.

"Oh, I think you _do_ know very well how this concerns me, Weasley. Come, Alya, let's go find out what is taking your date so long." Draco held out his hand for me. Without thinking I took it and stood up.

"Good evening Percy, I promise to behave myself." Hopefully that would be enough for my brother.

We finally saw James from across the room. He was with that witch Camille.

When we got closer I could hear her saying to him "When you drop off leettle miss goody two shoes, meet me in the greenhouse, James. I have meesed you thees past week."

"I am not sleeping with you again, Camille, Alya and I are back together." Wait… did he just say he would not sleep with her _again_? James had… and when were we not together?

"Well, I guess now I know what you were doing when you were avoiding me that week, James. And why you were so very apologetic later." I tore off my corsage and threw it at him. The triumphant look in Camille's eye was more than I could stand. I pulled my wand.

Draco immediately grabbed me "Leave it, Alya. Trash like this isn't worth wasting a perfectly good spell on." His look as he said it encompassed James.

"No! Alya, wait, please don't leave! This," he waved his hand towards Camille "meant nothing. I was just angry after the dragon challenge and…"

"That's even worse James. Even someone like Camille deserves to have someone sleep with her because they genuinely like her, not just because she is someone to shag when you are angry." Camille looked at me rather stunned when I said that.

I stormed off after saying that and went down an empty corridor to have a good cry.

Draco came and found me there. I didn't ask why it had taken him so long to get there. I was sure I didn't want to know.

I could feel him sit down next to me. "Well… that was a right shite end to the evening."

I looked at him in astonishment, Wasn't he supposed to be saying comforting things?! And talk about understatement of the century! I couldn't help it, I started to laugh.

I laughed until I was crying for a whole different reason. "You Draco Malfoy are a shite friend! You are supposed to rub my back and tell me I am too good for him and she is a slag minger who you only took because your best friend was going with her boyfriend!"

"Ruddy hell, Weasley, do I look like one of your girl friends?" he looked flat astonished at the idea he would have done any of those things.

I started laughing again. "Alright, you are not a shite best friend, but you _are_ a shite girl friend!"

"Thank Merlin for that." He was also laughing.

He stood up from the window seat we were sitting on and held out his hand. Taking it I stood up.

"Where are we going?" I asked. He surprised me by pulling me in to his arms.

"I do believe you owe me a dance, Weasley, and it better be a good one after calling me a shite best friend." We could still hear the music from down the corridor. After twirling me around for a bit the song changed to a slow one. Pulling me closer he rubbed my back "You are too good for him you know? And she is a slag minger."

I laughed "Sure and you took her because I was already going with James."

He surprised me by spinning me around and then kissing my forehead "Exactly so." He whispered.


	26. I'll Be the Judge of That

I spent the rest of that night wondering what Draco had meant by 'exactly so'. I felt foolish. He was clearly just cheering me up by repeating what I said to him.

Uggh and James… _he_ spent the next day trying to get me to talk to him. Arsehole. No way! He could sit on the pointy end of his wand. I wasn't going to tell the rest of the Vipers what happened, it was bad enough that I knew, but James' shouting clued them in anyway.

"Alya we'e been friends for three years, you are my girlfriend you can't just blow that off for a mistake. I told you Camille meant nothing to me! Sleeping with her was just…" he didn't seem to know how to finish that thought.

Good thing I did! "Ex, James, ex-girlfriend. If you think _this_ …" I motioned between us "is still a thing you are a delusional cheater!"

The rest of the Vipers were right behind him.

"Arse." Mora said slapping the back of his head as she went past him.

"Cheating arse!" Pria also smacked the back of his head.

"Lying cheating arse!" Esme finished with a final smack.

Frank just looked at him disappointed and shook his head.

The gang took me to Frank's room and made me tell them exactly what had happened the night before.

"Do you want me to hex him for you, Alya? I mean he is my brother but that was a pretty shite thing to do to you." Good old Frank!

"And with that horrid Camille too!" said Esme with a glare.

"No, don't hex him. Draco wouldn't let me so you can't either." Their disappointment almost made me laugh. "Besides, he is right, he is still our friend. And your brother. I have to forgive him at some point."

"You are taking that cheating idiot back?!" I had no idea Draco was outside the door.

"No, he won't be my boyfriend again, but he is my friend. A stupid, lying, cheating, arse of a friend, but still my friend. And yours." I looked at the Vipers. "Just maybe not today, at least for me. I need time."

"Grab your jumper, Alya, we are going to Hogsmeade." I could tell Draco wasn't in the mood to be told no.

"Yeah, alright." I hopped up from the floor. "Just give me a few minutes to get ready, yeah?"

"We leave in five. Any longer and I am going to go hand your _ex_ -boyfriend his arse." If anything Draco sounded angrier than last night.

I patted Draco's shoulder on my way out "Five minutes then, but be nice in the mean time, OK?"

He was glaring past me, I turned to see James standing there "So is it official now? Draco is your actual boyfriend instead of…"

I stuck my wand under his chin "You have no right to talk to me, James Gamp! And who I choose to go to Hogsmeade with is none of your concern."

I shoved past him. He knew I wouldn't damage him severely with a hex, but he wasn't sure how far I would go to cause him serious embarrassment. Wise move, even I wasn't sure how far I was prepared to go!

As I was getting changed I noticed my room suddenly getting a lot more crowded. Esme, Mora and Pria had all entered and were watching me with various degrees of smirks on their faces.

"Soooo…." Mora said "Did you forget to tell us something very important about last night?"

I thought over it. "Nope, James and Camille, James admitted he slept with her out of anger. Camille looking all smug until I nearly hexed her… Draco stopping me. That is all of the important facts. Why…?" What were my friends getting at?

"So nothing happened between you and Draco?" Esme asked with a smug look.

"No… I mean he cheered me up like usual. You know how he is." What were they getting at?

"No, Pria laughed, we know how he is with _you_. He does not act the over protective boyfriend…"

"Best friend." I interrupted

" _Boyfriend_ …" she repeated "with anyone except you. So now, you want to tell us about that little private dance in the corridor that James walked in on?"

Uh… I hadn't noticed James walked in… "It was nothing just Draco being Draco and cheering me up after I was embarrassed and upset and crying and…"

"Oh Alya" Pria was always the sensitive one "I didn't know you had cried, that big stupid prat! You want me to go back and hex him for you?"

Sensitive but mean. "No, Pria" I laughed "If I didn't let Frank or Draco hex him I am not going to let you hex him either." Merlin but my friends were a blood thirsty lot!

"Hey, you ready up there or not?" Draco called up the stairs. "Because if you aren't I might just decide to leave you here if you don't get a move on!"

"Ready!" I called "We will discuss this later, girls, and no hexing anyone while I am gone!" They left as I grabbed my sweater and ran down the stairs. "Alright, hold your horses, I'm here."

"ugggh we are just going to Hogsmeade, you didn't have to get dressed up. Grab a sweater and let's go was literally what I said!" Boys, so help me they don't get it.

"I had an ink stain on that top, Draco! I was not leaving here with my hair in a mess and just count yourself lucky I didn't decide to cast a few cosmetic spells while I was at it!" I looked up the stairs like I was contemplating going back and doing just that.

"Oh no you don't, Weasley!" He grabbed my hand and all but dragged me from the dungeons.

"You know in some circles this is referred to as abduction, Draco!" I said trying to get him to slow down.

He pointed at his chest "Slytherin." I rolled my eyes. Not that it did any good, the back of his head did not notice.

He pulled me a long all the way to Hogsmeade barely stopping to open doors. "What is your hurry, Draco? Hogsmeade is not being outlawed you know!" I could not understand why he was in such a rush!

"I want to be there at exactly noon." Was his only reply.

When we finally made it in to Hogsmeade he dragged me all the way to the top floor of the Three Broomsticks. Once inside he pulled me out on to a balcony. I had to admit I was breathing pretty hard by this time.

Finally I looked at him "What on earth are you doing, Draco? Besides trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Just shut up Weasley and look down." He was giving me this smirk that made my tummy flip over. I really hated it when he did that.

As soon as the sun was directly overhead things started sparkling on the ground like diamonds. "Neat bit of magic but why…"

As I looked the sparkling took on the shape of letters "DM + AW" and soon enough a big heart encompassed the letters.

I turned to look at Draco confused. "I may be a shite girl friend," he said "but I make a pretty darned good boyfriend."

I could feel my eyes burning at the back a bit "I'll be the judge of that."

"Is that a yes?" he asked.

"Yes to what?" I was confused, he just rolled his eyes and smiled.

I smiled back finally understanding. When he leaned in and kissed me that tummy flip became a full somersault. It was definitely a yes.


	27. Making Up is Hard to Do

**AN note removed to give no more attention to negative people.**

I was not avoiding James but I sure wasn't going out of my way to be Sherlock to his Watson either. It was not just that he had hurt and embarrassed me, although he had. It was that we had been friends for a long time and instead of talking to me he ran off with that slag.

As if Pansy and her bitch crew weren't enough! Gah! Pansy would have been better, at least she was someone we knew. James had thrown me over for some awful girl who had no reason to be bitchy to us. At least with Pansy we all had given as good as we got over the years. None of us were exactly victims at this point.

I stopped being a victim the moment I made her eyebrow crawl up her bum. A fine bit of magic if I said so myself.

And Pansy had got revenge by replacing all of the ink in my inkpots with air vanishing ink(*) so I had to redo all of my homework. So again, no victims.

But Camille was just awful and the point of him being with her was because she was awful. He did it to be hurtful.

James gave me these sad puppy dog eyes whenever we saw each other in class or at meals or in the common room. The Vipers were not speaking to him, even though I told them they should. He is still our friend.

I mean, I am totally pissed at him and I WILL be getting nasty items from my brother to humiliate him, but damned it, he is still my Watson.

Plus, if he had not messed around with Camille, I would not be with Draco now. And I am really happy being with Draco.

Don't get me wrong, he is still an annoying prat with seriously questionable taste in friends, and that crap he gets Pria to whip up for his hair could probably be used to protect buildings in high winds. And he has this ridiculous idea that I am a fragile little flower that needs to be protected no matter how many times I kick his arse in a duel.

But he is also sweet and walks me to class even when I know sometimes he would rather walk with his friends. And he thinks that the mere act of his buying me chocolate means that it suddenly has no calories and I can eat as much as I want.

The point is that it is really hard to hate someone who brought me together with the most amazing guy I know. I mean we were already together as best friends, but maybe it would have only every been that if it weren't for the Yule Ball.

Really hard, to hate him, but whenever I see him and Camille as potion partners I soldier through it.

Except the really weird thing was Camille was being… weird. She kept acting like she wanted to talk to me but then she would look away. I was not planning to worry about her though.

As though I had time to worry about her anyway. My parents had made it perfectly clear no matter how many galleons I had in a bank my school was a priority. My grades were not going to slip upon pain of permanent punishment.

I had hoped that now that everything was out in the open that my family would accept my money and be willing to allow me to buy things for them.

That looked as likely to happen as having the Malfoys over to tea.

I don't know what good money was if I couldn't take care of my family. Draco just shrugged when I mentioned it to him and told me to set my bank vault on fire for all he cared he had plenty enough for both of us. Why he thought I would take his money if I wouldn't take his father's was beyond me.

I did know that until I forgave James The Vipers would remain fractured. Frank would eventually break off because, brothers, and I always suspected Esme has a crush on Frank, so instead of our solid six we would be a broken three. And it didn't matter whose fault it was. Fault is completely irrelevant.

I did know I had to discuss it with Draco first. He would be resist to the idea anyway and if didn't discuss mending fences with my ex with him before hand we would just end up in a big fight.

I decided to wait until our next Hogsmeade weekend. He was always happiest then.

As we sipped our butterbeers and munched on chips I watched his face. I did like looking at him. When he put down his drink and reached over to take my hand and smiled in to my eyes I almost melted in to a puddle of goo.

"I know I am good looking, Weasley, but I also know you don't usually sit around gazing at me adoringly. I am willing to allow for that sudden change in you for a few minutes, but anything longer is going to start creeping me out." He rubbed small circles on the back of my hand smiling when he said this.

I almost forgot what the hell I wanted to talk to him about in favor of a good snogging session. I had to mentally shake myself to remember I wanted him in a good relaxed mood.

Wait… snogging usually puts guys in a good mood, right? I decided there was really only one way to test that theory. For purely academic purposes of course… I slid over next to him and wrapped my arms around his neck while his arms went to my waist.

It took a good half hour to test my hypothesis. As far as I could tell I was spot on. He definitely looked like he was in a good mood when we came up for air.

My brothers were another story. Fred, George and Ron were glaring at us from across the room. Ron looked furious, Fred looked nauseated and George looked amused.

One nauseated twin and one amused twin, in case none of you have been paying attention to their scholastic career, was NOT a sign of things to come. I gave them both a warning glare and when back to staring in to my boyfriends eyes.

They can bugger off and get their own boyfriend's pretty eyes to stare in to. Right now I had my own to attempt to convince that being friendly with my ex was not the modern equivalent of being turned into a pig and tortured by Circe.

I really should have turned him in to a pig.

"Draco…" I started.

"Ahh and here it is, the reason for your oh so timely and oh so thorough snogging." He grinned down at me.

"Oh no, the snogging was… well, OK, it was to test a theory." I admitted.

Raising an eyebrow he looked at me quizzically "And what was your theory?"

"That you would be much more relaxed and happy if I snogged you senseless." I smiled guiltily.

He wrapped his arms back around my waist "Any other theories about how to turn me in to Mr. Nice Guy that you want to test out?"

I smacked his thigh "Are you trying to get my brothers to sneak dangerous pranks in to your lunch?"

Draco rubbed his chin thinking it over "Might be worth it."

I laughed at him "No. It really wouldn't be."

"Alright, Alya, what is it you want me to agree to?" No putting one past this guy. _My_ guy, I smiled happily to myself.

"I want to make up with James." There, out loud. I said it.

I was not prepared for his immediate angry response. "You want to get back together with your ex?" he snarled.

"NO!" I almost shouted drawing looks from around the room, including from the afore mentioned brothers who looked ready to wade in and do battle.

"No." I said more quietly giving my brothers an _'I dare you to interfere'_ glare. "I want to put my group of friends back together. This whole ugly business has people choosing sides. It is… uncomfortable.. I don't like all of this… loudness."

Draco truly is my best friend. He immediately saw how stressed I was by the whole thing. "OK… you _don't_ want to get back together, you _just_ want to be… what? Friends again?"

Was he jealous? Insecure? I wasn't really sure what word fit here. "Just friends, or… well, friendly, I doubt we will ever be like we were before, but I don't want to break up the Vipers for some vindictive girl who will be gone without a look back."

Draco thought about this for a long time before finally saying "I don't like it, but I won't stop you. If you can accept my friendship with Pansy I can learn to live with this."

Gah! Pansy, like fun I had accepted that friendship, but now was not the time. Kissing him again, happily, I snuggled in to finish our date.

Later I found the Vipers in the common room. James was with them, he started to take off as soon as he saw me come in with Draco.

"Going somewhere, Watson?" I asked casually.

He looked at me surprised "errr… no?"

"Good, because the spring Holiday is coming up and we need to know who is staying, who is going. We still have a lot of unexplored dungeon ground to cover." I said motioning to the chair he had just vacated.

"ummm.. right…" he started, unsure, and then when he saw my smile he perked up "Right, Sherly! A lot of ground and no time like the holiday when the rest of these sporting fanatics will be watching the Champions try to kill themselves."

"My thoughts exactly" I said pulling Draco down next to me. James had to know the new state of things was not changing. "Where are those maps?"

We spent the rest of the afternoon deciding where to explore next. Before we were done, James and I were… friendlier.

 **(*)a real thing by the way, you can find it at any fabric store. Although they don't sell just the ink you have to buy it as a pen. It is to mark up fabric before you sew it but makes a pretty good prank.**


	28. No Kissing for a Month

**I am back at work after my first vacation in four years. I will be back to updating stories once a week or so.**  
 **Thank you for the review brooklynhale, glad you are enjoying it. And I agree, Weasley's don't cast their own aside. As to what happened when McGonagall found out about Alya's advanced magic, that will be revealed in the second part of my story "The War Years"**

"What do you mean I can't snog you for a month?!" Draco was practically shouting at me in horror and disbelief. I should have known. He was surprisingly very physically affectionate.

"I don't like it either Draco, but you can interrupt the spell if you do and I will have to start over." This was a battle made even more challenging by the sheer fact that I did not _want_ to stop kissing him. Draco is a fantastic kisser.

"What if we were just really careful?" he was not going to give up easily. I had to admit this made me feel pretty happy that he was no more anxious to give up than I was.

But ever since Professor Snape had approached me with his plan for my training I knew it wasn't a choice. I was not going to disappoint my Professor and House Head, heck, my mentor, because I could not resist the urge to make out with my boyfriend!

Professor Snape had called me in to his office after class one.

"Miss Weasley, your dueling lessons are going well enough, but I get the sense that they are not where your true interests lie." How he could know this when even I did not know what my true interests were amazed me.

"I… I really don't have an answer for that, Professor. I don't know what I am interested in _exactly_." I waited patiently, I trusted professor Snape and I knew he would have a plan for me!

"Indeed? I was under the impression that from a very young age you showed quite the aptitude and proclivity for transifiguration?" he raised an eyebrow at me.

"I do like making things and changing them, I have been OK at that in the past…" I wondered where he was going with this.

"A bit more than 'OK" from what I have learned." I blushed at his praise. "Professor McGonagall has a plan, if you are willing to work hard."

I frowned a bit "Professor McGonagall? I would not be studying with you, Professor?"

He looked at me sharply "Professor McGonagall is the transfiguration instructor, not I."

While his tone was disapproving he almost looked pleased by the idea that I really only wanted to learn from him "Yes, Professor, of course." I tried to keep the disappointment from my voice.

"I have other plans for you." He did not expand on his plans, but I was used to this. Professor Snape would give you everything you needed if you were willing to work hard, be humble, and most of all, be patient.

"Yes Professor." Was all I replied but it seemed to satisfy him.

"I will let Professor McGonagall know you are interested. Plan to stay behind with her after your next Transfiguration class." With that he dismissed me.

Leaving I thought about my relationship with Professor Snape. We rarely talked but that made it feel like the times we did have a conversation were important. I knew that if I were to reach out to him for help he would be there.

But in many ways I kind of felt like I didn't know him at all. I mean, not super surprising I guess. He is a Professor and I am a student. We aren't friends or family. Still, I wished I knew him better.

The next day after Transfiguration I stayed in my seat while the others left. I told everyone I would meet up with them later. James was just glad we were on speaking terms again.

I waited patiently for Professor McGonagall to finish clearing up after the lessons. There were an awful lot of teacups to put away but with a flick of her wand it only took a few moments.

Finally she was finished and took a seat directly across from me. Pulling a tin out from somewhere in her robes she opened the lid and held it out to me.

"Have a biscuit, Miss Weasley." She said smiling at me.

"Thank you" I smiled back and reached for one of the shortbread goodies.

"Professor Snape has told me that you are coming along very well in your studies, Miss Weasley." I smiled shyly to think they had been discussing me "But he is also concerned that they are coming too easily to you."

I nodded "Yes, ma'am." I knew he felt that way, it wasn't a surprise.

"He also says that you have a talent for transfiguration beyond what has been shown in my classroom." She said, taking a biscuit and biting into it delicately while watching me very closely.

I was horrified, was this it? Was I to be sent away now? Had they finally decided I was a freak and Professor Snape was too cowardly to tell me himself? I could feel myself starting to panic and hyperventilated.

"Miss Weasley! Alya… what is it? What is wrong?" I knew Professor McGonagall was concerned but screw her, she had messed this all up for me! Big mouthed witch!

"I…" suddenly my throat constricted "Are… are you going to send me away?"

"Away…? What on earth do you mean?" she seemed genuinely confused.

Maybe she was being sincere, but I had to know "Fred and George once told me if people knew I was really good at some things that I would be sent away and that doctors would want to study my brain." Logically I knew this was not true, but logic has nothing to do with fear.

She frowned "Oh those two rascal trouble makers. No one is sending you anywhere, Alya, we just want to make certain you get the best education possible!"

I was still a little unconvinced "You promise? Do you _promise_ no one is sending me away?"

"Good Godric Gryffindor, Alya I promise no one is sending you away because you are a gifted young witch." I felt better, Professor McGonagall is a Gryffindor, I am pretty sure they aren't allowed to lie. Or at least not very often, they are supposed to be all noble and stuff. "Nobles don't get to lie.

"Ok…" I felt bad about all of the things I had thought about her.

"Now, as to why you are here. You may be aware that I am an animagus. It is a very advanced form of Transfiguration."

I nodded, we had been told about animagi just last year, but what did it have to do with me?

"You are a bit young to begin studying the craft, but there is precedence, Uagadou, the school in Africa, specializes in self-transfiguration. Their students typically master their animagi forms by age fourteen." She paused to allow me to absorb this information.

Was she actually saying… "You think I can become an animagus?"

"Any witch or wizard _can_ " she emphasized the last word "but it takes preparation and dedication."

I was pretty excited. Think, I could become any kind of animal! But what kind did I want to be? "How did you choose the cat as your form?" I was genuinely curious.

"Animagi do not _choose_ their form. It is something they already _are_ , inside." I was confused how a person could be an animal inside, but I figured I would learn this as we went along.

"How do I get started?" I was getting even more excited as I thought about it!

Professor McGonagall smiled at my enthusiasm "I am going to send you back to your dormitory with reading material. I want you to read it and then write a three foot long scroll on how one becomes an animagus and what the laws governing self-transfiguration are."

She handed me a stack of books, I was confused to see they were all in French. "Professor… I don't speak French."

"I am sorry Miss Weasley, but those are the only books we have on hand." That seemed a little odd "But I have included a French to English translation book to help you with learning the magics necessary. Run along now." She finished, standing up. "I am certain you will want to get started as soon as possible.

She was right. And this spell was _hard_! I had to keep a mandrake leaf in my mouth for a whole month. Which was precisely why I was having this discussion with Draco.

"There is almost little to no chance that we will be that careful, Draco. And if it falls out, or I swallow it, even in my sleep, I have to start all the way over and it will be even that much longer!" I explained frowning unhappily.

Draco sighed "Fine Weasley, but you had better not swallow that damned leaf!"

"Do you realize that you call both me and my brother's "Weasley" whenever you are annoyed?" Me and my big Salazar forsaken mouth. Just blurting out the least romantic thing I can think of.

Draco turned a little green "Well, that solved one of our problems She-Weasel."

"Oh? And how is that?" But I had kind of guessed…

"It will be _at least_ a month before I can get that image out of my head." Draco said looking ill.


	29. Amato Animo Animato Animagus

Draco may have complained, but he was still very supportive. He made sure I had everything I need, even going so far as to buy me a special silver spoon for that part of the potion.

We even went on a special trip together to Diagon Alley, chaperoned by Grandmama of course, to buy a few other specialty potion ingredients I needed.

Draco refused to let me pay for anything and even carried the packages for me and my grandmother.

Grandmama thought he was quite the gentleman for doing so. Of course she would. That woman seemed to have every intentions of buying out the entire inventory of several shops while we were here. Gifts for everyone. Some silly muggle thing for my father. The shop keep called it a hand mixer. It did not look like it would be good for mixing hands at all… not that I really wanted to. And yarn for mum and something for each of my brothers and Ginny.

Even new pair of gloves for Charlie in Romania.

I couldn't say I disagreed with her about him being a gentleman. Draco was immensely charming when he wanted to be.

I could not have been happier. I was so worried that when we started dating I would lose my best friend, but instead I got a two for one deal. He was an amazing boyfriend, and still the best friend I could ever have.

Finding a place to collect dew that had not been touched by sunlight or human feet for seven days was the worst.

I looked under the Quidditch stands finding plenty of places untouched by sunlight but trampled by the feet of couples looking for a place to get some privacy.

I searched the Forbidden Forest and found plenty of places untouched by human feet but touched by plenty of sunlight. Hagrid positively refused to allow me to go any deeper. He said the Ministry had riled up the centaurs and it wasn't safe for even a "foal" to go in amongst them at the moment.

It taken me three weeks of trying, and I was ready to give up in frustration and grow my own patch of grass and stick it on a balcony somewhere high up in the castle.

When I finally explained my frustration to him, Draco finally asked why I didn't just collect the dew and then store it away in the spoon to protect it for the seven days.

I had just stared at him in shock when he suggested this.

"Sometimes the most obvious answer _is_ the answer, Alya." He had laughed at my look of gratitude mixed with annoyance mixed with the desire to snog my boyfriend senseless.

After careful research and a consultation with Professor McGonagall, in French as instructed (this French obsession of hers was getting down right odd) I decided that was exactly how to handle it.

I prayed and prayed the full moon would be nice and clear. I did not have the heart to tell Draco if it was cloudy I would have to start the month over. I was certain his reaction would be less than understanding.

I was in luck, the next full moon rose high and clear. I was finally able to spit that blasted mandrake leaf into the moon touched vial and add the dew I had collected.

I looked over the instructions one last time:

Brewing

· Place the now-soaked Mandrake leaf in a small crystal phial where it is struck directly by the light given off by the moon (if the night is cloudy or the moon is otherwise obscured, the entire Mandrake Leaf process will need to be repeated).

· Add one strand of hair to the phial.

· Add a teaspoon of dew to the phial.

· Add one Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalis to the phial and place the mixture in a dark, undisturbed place until the next lightning storm.

Satisfied that I understood I pulled a strand of my hair and got to work.

When I finally mixed the potion just right I added the chrysalis of a death's head moth at the very end and put a stopper in it. Laying it carefully in the case I had purchased I pointed my wand at my heart and chanted "Amato Animo Animato Animagus". Something I would be doing every sunrise and sundown until there was a lightning storm.

When I was finished I noticed Draco watching me. I brushed my hands together and smiled at him. I was exhausted but it was worth it.

We left the potion room and started back towards the dungeons when he suddenly stopped me with a hand on my arm. When I looked up at him my heart did a double beat in my chest. His eyes were always so soft when he looked at me.

He smiled back "Close your eyes, Alya."

I love his surprises they are usually the best, but this one had me perplexed. I heard him murmur an incantation and then my mouth was filled with the taste of cinnamon and apples.

I opened my eyes and frowned at him, puzzled "Draco what was….mmmphh…"

I stopped as his lips crashed down on mine. Oh this was a good surprised. I smiled against him as I wound my arms about his neck.

He had clearly decided we had an awful lot of time to make up for. He pulled me into the nearest broom closet and barred the door, grinning down at me in a very wolfish manner before pulling me back in for another kiss that caused my brain to malfunction.

Afterwards I grinned up at him "Worth the wait?" I asked just a little bit tauntingly. It was his fault I wanted to tease him. Nearly daily he tested my resolve not to do any kissing until the month was over.

"Why?" he asked me suspiciously, clearly not liking the teasing tone of my voice. I handed him my brewing instructions.

"You mean we could have had to start this over from the beginning if the moon had been clouded over?!" he sounded horrified and shocked and relieved and just a teensy bit nauseated.

I wasn't really sure how someone managed to sound nauseated but he did it!

I nodded with a giggle.

"That is not funny you she-Weasel. Not funny at all!" He had stopped calling me "Weasley" after I made the brother comparison. It was almost three hours after I said that before he tried to convince me to kiss him again.

"Oh come on Draco, it is a little funny." I said, reaching out to tickle his sides.

He grabbed my roaming hands and pulled them around his waist kissing me once again until I stopped trying to tickle him.

I like his distractions a lot better than Professor Moriarty's but I doubt the real Sherlock Holmes would have enjoyed them as much as I did. Moriarty was not described as being very attractive!

When Draco lightly bit my lower lip I stopped thinking about evil villains.

It took a great deal of snogging to convince him that now that we did not have to worry about it that it was just a _little_ funny.


	30. Family Trust

My parents and I had come to an understanding. I would spend one week of my holidays with them, excluding the full summer, and I could be with my friends the rest of the time.

The last weekend always included the Vipers, or at least some of them, whoever could make it, spending the night. We would all go to Diagon Alley for the day and then back to Hogwarts.

I was the only full time "Don't take me away from my school" fanatic in the bunch, but this year with the tournament everyone would be returning with me after the spring break.

Or that was my plan. I had no way of knowing that this holiday would be very different. Mum was always so pleased to have my friends over I was floored when she said no this time.

"I am sorry, Alya, but this holiday will just be for family. You may see your friends at school." Mum told me, bustling around the kitchen.

It was our first day back home and I really didn't want to start off on the wrong foot but I was surprised and a little hurt.

"You don't like the Vipers?" I had no idea where this sudden talkative streak was coming from.

Mum looked up at me surprised "What, Alya dear? Not like… oh for heaven's sake, of course I do. This is just a special week for just family. You understand don't you? There's my girl."

I didn't really understand but Mum asked so little of me that I decided to humor her this _one_ weekend.

"Alright Mum, it is OK, we can still owl I suppose" It was odd, but for just a moment I thought she was going to say no. I could not imagine why she would not want me to owl my friends. "Right?"

"Yes, certainly, you may owl your friends. Now help me pack some things, we are going on a special trip." I hadn't heard about any trips, but I started packing the things she asked of me.

The next morning after we had packed what seemed like the entire contents of our kitchen including cleaning potions of all the unlikely things there wasn't much left for breakfast.

I was a little surprised to see Harry Potter at our table. I would have thought he was too busy being all Champion to come to our house for the holiday. I wasn't upset that he was there even though it was supposed to be just family. I knew how rotten _his_ family was. If he wanted to be part of _our_ family I was OK with that.

Ginny seemed to have got over her shyness around him. I guess having him save her life had helped with that. She now laughed and joked with him. I was really happy for her!

When we stepped to the floo my parents handed me and everyone else a piece of paper. I read the words and felt a strange sensation wash over me.

Had my Mum just hexed me?! I looked around and saw that everyone else felt the same. Ugh. Magical parents, am I right?

When we arrived the place was… bloody amazing! It was dark and looked like anything could be hiding in the corners. Boggarts and ghouls, maybe something fancier than the ghoul at the Burrow!

I was so busy looking around that I did not notice the rest of the family had stopped and was staring at a very attractive older man who looked vaguely familiar.

"Harry Potter." The man said with a smile.

I was floored when Harry ran forward and hugged the man tightly saying quite cheerfully "Sirius!"

That was why he looked familiar! Sirius Black. The escaped mad man who was trying to kill Harry. Who had broken in to Hogwarts and was standing over Ron with a knife.

I tried to figure out what was happening looking around at the happy, smiling faces of my family. Had they all been bewitched? Was that the hex I had felt?

But then why wasn't I staring all doe eyed at Sirius and Harry? And I certainly felt no urge to throw myself in to his arms the way Harry had. Even though he was a pretty good looking wizard.

No, this meant something else was happening. Mum looked at me all beaming smiles "This was the surprise Alya, and why we could not have your friends over."

I looked from her to Sirius frowning. I was starting to figure it out. Somehow Sirius had been forgiven for his mistakes. Maybe he was an innocent man. Or maybe he had been Imperiused in to doing the things he had done.

Standing a bit behind him was… Professor Lupin? Our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, well, until everyone found out he was a werewolf. I thought it was pretty cool, but I was definitely in the minority. He had been OK, I never got detention with him and he had really not made much of an impression on me.

He was staring at me now with a solemn look on his face. Great a werewolf looks like _he_ feels sorry for _me_. I must really be as pathetic as I had always assumed.

But our presence in Sirius Black's home, or Professor Lupin's or who ever this place belonged to meant two things.

My parents were capable of forgiving past transgressions. But only when it suited them. Certainly not when it came to my boyfriend and his family.

And that everyone else seemed to have a relationship with Sirius Black meant that as I had suspected I was the odd duck out in our family. My parents didn't trust me. My own twin and my brothers didn't trust me. If they had this would not be a surprise to me.

I turned on my heels and marched down the hall. I was leaving. I would go to the Burrow, or Malfoy Manor, or just back to Hogwarts. Anywhere but here!

As I stormed off I could hear my mother telling Sirius "It is just a surprise to her, that is all Sirius. She is feeling a little confused and frightened."

"I don't think that is it." I heard Sirius respond "That look was neither confused nor frightened. It was, if I am not mistaken, furious."

As I stormed down the hall a witch in a painting started shouting at me. "Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, be gone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers…"

I glared at the woman "Shut up you old hag! I am the Quidditch expert for Slytherin and my boyfriend is a Malfoy. If you keep it up I WILL find a way to permanently position a muggle in your painting! I bet with their skill and hatred of muggles they will know exactly how to do that!"

The old bat opened and closed her mouth a few times then she smiled at me "Why didn't you say you were dating my darling nephew Draco? (how did she know it was Draco? Creepy much?). You cannot help who you were born to lovely girl. You stood up for yourself like a true Black, unlike…."

She suddenly glared over my shoulder "Yoooou!" she howled, her eyes popping at the sight of Sirius Black behind us. "Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"

He strode forward determinedly and pulled the curtain over her frame. "I see you have met my mother." He smiled down at me.

I said nothing I just kept strolling towards the front door. It stubbornly refused to open. I tried alohomora and every other spell I knew but nothing doing.

"You might try blasting it down. I would even be glad to lend you a hand. I hate that locked door as much as you do." He said this like a joke, but his tone was anything but teasing as he glared at the offending object.

"I'll bet" I murmured and stormed in to the closest open door.

I stopped short at the painting on the wall. It was a whole family tree for the Blacks! I walked over and stroked the place where my grandmother would have been. It stopped with her and my grandfather. Blood traitors, I remembered the painting shouting at me.

I walked over and stared at Draco's image for a while before lightly tracing his facial lines with the tips of my fingers.

I could sense Sirius behind me. "I see I am not the only family member to break with tradition." He said coming to stand beside me. "My parents expected me to be sorted in to Slytherin. When I became a Gryffindor they were… less than pleased.

I sighed "Yeah… my Mum and dad pretend they don't care about me being in Slytherin, but…"

"But they hate your friends and treat you like you are untrustworthy?" he looked down at me as though we were kindred spirits.

I guess in a way we were.

"Yeah, something like that. The thing is, they didn't even tell me that they suddenly started trusting a man they had spent a year fearing. They can accept… whatever your circumstances were, but not the Malfoy's. Not even Draco and he had nothing to do with the last time the Dark Lord rose to power."

He looked startled "You… call _him_ the Dark Lord?"

I hadn't really thought about it, I shrugged "It is what everyone I know calls him." He just nodded at me thoughtfully.

 **A.N. Yes, I know Sirius was hiding in a cave not at 12 Grimmauld. And I know that Harry did not leave Hogwarts during the tournament. I have taken creative license.**


	31. The Animagus and the Boggart

Having no choice in the matter I resigned myself to being here for the next two weeks.

I tried to write Draco to tell him all of my family's latest transgressions but every time I tried to write "Sirius" or 12 Grimmauld Place my writing turned to gibberish.

I gave up with a sigh and just told him how much I missed him and couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts. I guess I now know what the hex my mother put on us was. It was a dirty trick if you ask me. But no one ever does.

Mum had Ginny and I set to scrubbing the bedrooms we were using and stunning the doxies in the curtains. I was covered head to toe in dirt and doxie spittle. Which is poisonous, naturally, so I have _that_ going for me.

I finally finished the room Ginny and I were using, she was cleaning the room Ron and Harry used, when I noticed an old trunk in the back of the closet.

Mum is a stickler for every last inch being cleaned so I used my wand to drag it to the middle of the floor and opened it up.

Inside was Draco Malfoy! Only… he was covered in blood, and it didn't look like he was breathing. I started to panic. I knew in reality this had to be a boggart, we learned about them last year, but my rational mind was not in control of this situation. I tried to remember the spell to banish it, but I couldn't. All I could do was collapse on the floor sobbing.

Which was exactly how Sirius found me. I wanted to be mortified at my position, but I just couldn't.

As soon as Sirius stepped forward the boggart stood up from the trunk. Only now it sort of looked like Harry, except the eyes were the wrong color. I have no idea how I managed to notice that. Now it was pointing at Sirius in a rather accusatory manner. Having been on the end of many accusations in my day, some deserved some not, I recognized when blame was being assigned.

Sirius pointed his wand at the horrible image and shouted "Riddikulus!" at it. Suddenly the pointing finger sprouted a full bouquet of flowers. As the thing tried to shake it off flowers scattered all of the room and the bouquet grew larger. Finally I couldn't hold it in any longer and started laughing at the look of annoyance on the things face. Sirius joined me and within seconds the boggart was gone in a puff of irritation and doxie dust.

When it was gone all I was left with was the image of Draco, bloody and dead lying in that trunk. That awful, awful trunk.

And the blood. So much blood. I started shaking and was heading for a full blown panic attack when I felt a hand on my shoulder. That was all. No words, just a gentle hand grounding me.

I looked up in to Sirius Black's eyes. He looked down at me with such compassion all I could think to do was bury my face in to his leather coat and cry.

I am pretty sure I startled him because he stiffened up for just a moment. It was only a short time before he stroked my back and whispered non sense like "There, there" and all of the crap people whisper to the hysterical weepy girl types.

Finally I looked up and mumbled "I am not a very good Weasley, and I suck at being a Black too. I am just not very good at fitting in _anywhere_." I sniffled pathetically.

"Why do you think you are bad at being both a Weasley AND a Black?" he actually seemed curious.

"Have you _met_ my family? Mum and Dad were genuine war heroes, Ginny is good at everything, Ron has faced danger and death over and over for his friends. Fred and George would have had the damned boggart laughing before they are done. Percy is perfect at anything he tries and don't even get me started on Bill the Curse Breaker and Charlie the dragon tamer." I gave another pitiful sniffle.

"And you think you are not as good as them because you could not face the dead body of your friend lying bloody in a trunk?" he pulled a handkerchief from somewhere and handed it to me.

I nodded miserably, blowing my nose "And a good Black never would have broke down and showed her emotions. Grandmama never does."

"Your grandmother is a formidable woman with decades and decades of experience being a crafty old witch." He motioned for me to sit on the bed.

I flopped down "I am not good at anything important."

"Really?" he asked with amusement "because if my sources are correct you used the muggle books of Sir Alfred Conner Doogle to become a sleuth and turned pocket change in to two million galleons worth of investments."

"Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and yes, I did but…" he did not understand.

He started ticking off on his fingers "And you went in to the Chamber of Secrets to save Ginny? And you stayed with your friend Draco when he was hurt even though blood causes you panic attacks? And also I have heard you have a fair bit of talent at transfigurations."

He actually sounded somewhat impressed, but he was wrong "The investments were a hunch and luck. Anything could have gone wrong. I was so afraid the goblins would go on strike and wipe me out… And Draco is my best friend, or was at the time, now he is my boyfriend I had to stay. I was mad at him and if he died and I could not tell him I was mad and then forgive him…" I shuddered, that would have definitely been worse than seeing blood. "And I am only good at my classes because I can't forget anything, so it is all just memorizing stuff. Well, except for the animagus spell, that I guess I am pretty OK at, we'll see…"

He looked stunned "You are becoming an animagus? Are… does anyone know?"

How could I have done it if they didn't? It was super complicated "Yeah, of course, Professor McGonagall is teaching me, and Professor Snape suggested it and I assume they would have had to clear it with Professor Dumbledore. Plus I had to have Mum and Dad's permission. It is all very complicated."

He looked at me amused. "How far are you in to the spell?"

"I am saying the incantation every dusk and dawn waiting for a lightening storm."

He looked stunned "You brewed the potion and managed to hold that awful leaf in your mouth for a whole month?!"

"Oh yes" I laughed "And don't think for a minute Draco was happy about _that_ part of the spell."

"Right, your boyfriend Draco Malfoy…" he seemed to be thinking about something but I didn't sense any judgment.

"My family hates that I care about him so much."I whispered.

"I am sure they would feel that way about any boy you dated." I wasn't so sure they hadn't hated James after all, but I let it go.

"Feel better?" he laid his hand on my head.

"Much, thanks Sirius." I was surprised suddenly I should have been nearly catatonic over the whole blood thing but I wasn't.

"Good, you know… there is a lightning storm predicted this weekend." He smiled at me.

"REALLY? I hadn't expected it so soon… Am I ready?" I didn't expect him to answer me I was talking to myself.

"The first time is always the scariest. It is much easier after that." He sounded so sure and…

"Wait, Sirius are _you_ an animagus?" I was surprised. You would think this was information my family might want me to have. An experienced animagus in the home was a big deal.

"Yep, I turn in to a big black shaggy dog." I tilted my head, he didn't seem doglike. I would have guessed some sort of big cat.

"Will… will you come with me for the final transformation?" I did not want to admit I was scared, but hey… Slytherin! We are not known for bravery.

"Of course, now what say we get downstairs and see what your Mum has rustled up?" I jumped up happily and followed him downstairs.

We discussed the boggart with my parents and how there were probably more.

"Oh Alya," Mum said hugging me, I am so sorry, what… what was it?" Boggarts are pretty personal, and I did not want to share this one "It…" I struggled for something plausible that wasn't an outright lie."

"Looked like a goblin who was refusing t work to me" Sirius supplied, "Little blighter had thrown down his tools."

My family shook their heads at me and Dad sighed, but after a moment they all laughed.

"You and your fear of goblin strikes" Mum Dad looked amused.

"Quite the daughter you have there" Sirius said. "She needs a little work on her wand work, but even if I hadn't got it she would have figured out the right motion."

I was so grateful to him. He sauntered over to the teapot throwing me a wink on his way past.


	32. The Transformation

Sirius woke me up in the middle of the night three days later.

"Come on Alya, get up, it is time." I couldn't help but respond to the excitement in his voice and I bounced out of bed quickly.

He put a finger to his lips "Shhhhh… don't wake up Ginny."

I felt really special that he wanted this to be just me and him. I wasn't exactly _jealous_ of the closeness he and Harry shared, it was just hard watching the two of them wishing I had one of my mentors here. Professor Snape would have known just how to handle this. He wouldn't have sounded as excited as Sirius did, but he would have _felt_ just as excited. Sirius was a good substitute though.

He led me upstairs to the roof. It was nothing short of amazing. The entire roof had been transformed in to a beautiful garden. The light that had been set up all around the garden lit the place up and made it seem ethereal and magical.

"This must have taken an awful lot of magic." I remarked, stroking the delicate leaves of a flowering bush.

"It took none. This was all done the muggle way." He smiled fondly around him. "It drove my mother crazy, she burned it down three times."

I was amazed! "How did you get the soil up here?"

"I carted it all up by hand. My house elf Tibpy helped me. My mother killed her when she found out and mounted her head downstairs. She had been my only friend in this house." I was touched by the sadness in his voice.

Touched until I saw what was in the corner. A full grown hippogriff! And worse… it looked like the one who had…

"Sirius! Is that… the awful creature that attacked Draco?!" I started to back down the stairs. Forget this, I would wait years if I had to but I was leaving this roof NOW!

Sirius grabbed me gently by the shoulders. "Buckbeak is not a bad hippogriff. He was terrified about being surrounded by humans and your… friend… taunted him. He reacted in the way any animal would, cornered like that."

I knew he was right, that did not stop the thing from terrifying me "And how is being outside in a lightning storm with two humans _less_ terrifying for him?"

"He lives outside Alya, he is used to storms. And he is my friend. He trusts me. And he will trust you." He kept gently pushing me towards the thing "Now bow and wait."

I did so very reluctantly. After a few very long moments, Buckbeak bowed and then approached me. He nuzzled his long beak in to my hand.

"See? He just needs to feel comfortable." I stroked his beak and gave him a little scratch on his neck. He wandered away after that.

"OK, he isn't _so_ bad. But he still hurt Draco. He and I won't exactly be friends. And before you say anything I know Draco taunted him. I blame Hagrid more than Buckbeak." I glared at the ground.

"I wasn't going to say anything. And I agree about Hagrid. It was _my_ godson he put on him to fly around with no training you know." I did know that so I nodded.

The "great hippogriff incident" behind us, I started setting up my potion to capture the light from a lightning strike.

As he watched me setting up my table and tools, Sirius started explaining what to expect. "When you drink the potion, you will see an image of your animagus form shimmer in the air in front of you before you change."

"Does it hurt to transform? I have heard werewolves hurt quite a bit." Not that it would stop me, but I wanted to know what to expect.

"Not at all, a werewolf has a curse, a disease. One forced on him or her that they cannot control. The human part of them fights it. This is a choice you are making. You won't fight so you won't hurt." That made a lot of sense. I wanted this. I had worked so hard for months for it.

We waited for almost an hour before the lightning storm really began. I had final brewing to do and I had to mentally prepare myself.

Finally a bolt of lightning lit up the sky and the garden and my painstakingly prepared potion turned a deep blood red.

Pointing my wand at my heart I called out loud and clear, just like Professor McGonagall had instructed me "amato animo animato animagus."

I felt… odd. Just odd. Not good, not bad, not even neutral. I felt like my body was on fire, but not in a painful way. As though the lightning were shooting through my veins. But it didn't hurt.

Then suddenly in front of my eyes I saw a small curled up black form. The black I noticed was the same color as my hair. The eyes opened and looked at me and I noticed they were the exact same color of my eyes. The only difference was these eyes were a vertical slit.

I found myself becoming more and more compact as my arms and legs pulled in. This felt natural, right. I felt my muscles ripple and strengthen. The small sacks at my jaws (Sacks? Yeah, still feeling natural to me) filled slowly with poison.

I moved through the grass at my belly. It was cool and a little scratchy. My pits could sense the heat radiating off of the living creatures that shared this space with me.

One of them was of no concern. I felt good about that one. The other terrified me. The huge claws and beak told me this was danger. A bird of some sort. I knew this was deadly. I knew birds were to be avoided.

I slid under a bush and curled up hissing my displeasure. Could I bite it, poison it, before it ate me? I was sure going to try!

The other one, the one who was not danger looked in at me in my hiding space. "From what your brothers told me, I should have guess you would transform in to a snake. And one with a pretty nasty bite from the looks of you. Black adder, if I know my snakes. Alright, you can't hide down there all night come on out Alya."

Alya, that's right, that's who I am. And that was Sirius talking to me. And the big dangerous bird was Buckbeak.

I slid out carefully to his out stretched hand and curled around his wrist. I still glared at the big bird thing, not trusting it.

"I know the first time is scary, you have all of these strange feelings. But you are still Alya, concentrate and become Alya again." He sat me down on the grass and was suddenly holding a blanket out in front of him.

I concentrated. I am Alya, a human girl. I am a witch. I am the girlfriend of Draco Malfoy, daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley. Slowly my arms and legs stretched out from me and my body unfolded in to my human shape.

The reason for the blanket became obvious very quickly. I was completely naked! I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around myself blushing furiously.

Sirius just laughed. "You will be able to transform your clothes with you next time. You just have to concentrate on it."

I frowned at him perturbed "Why didn't you tell me that for _this_ time?"

"Because you had enough to concentrate on the first time. It probably wouldn't have worked at best, and at worst it could have interrupted the process and you would have to start over. It happened to Peter. I wish the process had… well, this is not the time to think bad thoughts about someone. This is a time for celebration." He grabbed my hands and spun me around.

Laughing I twirled with him. All of my hard work and self denial had paid off. The struggle was worth it. I had transformed.

I was a snake! A black adder!


	33. The Registry

I was horribly nervous as I waited for Dad to come and get me. The Ministry may be as familiar as an old well worn wand to the rest of my family, but it still intimidated me.

Percy had dropped me off that morning with a stern warning not to cause any trouble on pain of… he did not elaborate. Death and dismemberment came to mind though at his glare.

So help me, one little garden gnome rebellion and forever painted as a trouble maker. Fred and George have done far worse.

Although to be fair, no one would trust them alone in the Ministry. They barely trust them alone in the loo. Come to think of it, the last time the toilet tried to take a nip at my bum, _I_ don't trust them in the loo…

Resisting the urge to swing my feet, I am almost certain that would land me on the death and dismemberment list, I took the chance to look around. Little memos went wizzing by over head. Dad had explained once that the Ministry used to use owls but it got too messy. I can imagine…

The entire place was filled with what looked like very busy people going about their very busy work. I tried for a moment to imagine what it would be like to work here. Would I work for the department of Magical Law Enforcement? I was pretty good at detective work. I am a little less great on the rushing head first into danger, wands waving part. So I would probably be assigned to desk work. That might not be so bad. But my practically my whole family works here. At least enough of them to keep an annoyingly close eye on me. That wouldn't be nearly as amusing.

I was feeling pretty bored so I started practicing charms in my head. Well… hexes and jinxes really. I was working on one that makes a person's skin turn plaid in direct sunlight. I knew a few very vain people I would like to try that one on! So far all I had managed was a few weak lines that faded quickly to a nice tan. Not so bad if I wanted to create a nice cosmetic affect for someone. In fact I was thinking Pria would probably appreciate it for her cosmetic collection.

Finally I gave in to the urge to swing my legs back and forth when I heard "Miss Weasley?"

I jumped up, expecting to see some official looking person with very disapproving eyes glaring down at me. I was surprised to see Mr. Malfoy looking at me somewhat amused.

I clutched a hand to my chest "Oh, Mr. Malfoy, I thought you were… never mind." I stood to shake his hand. "How are you sir?"

"I am well, and yourself? How did a lovely energetic young lady end up in such a drab place on such a beautiful day?" He took my hands in both of his.

"I am here to register, sir." I was always surprised at how warm and welcoming his hands were, since he looked so cold.

"Register?" I could see the confusion on his face.

"Yes sir, I just finished my final animagus transformation and…" before I could complete the sentence I was interrupted.

"Alya, it is time to go." I looked up to see the very disapproving look on my father's face as he glared at Mr. Malfoy.

I resisted the urge to sigh at Dad's rudeness. "Good bye Mr. Malfoy. Tell Draco I will owl him later, please?"

"Of course, my dear girl." He raised my hand to his lips, kissing the back. I giggled and blushed, deepening the frown on my father's face.

I knew he had only done that to annoy Dad, but it still felt nice to have an older man be so gallant with me! I wish my family would show such old world manners! Ah, but if wishes were hexes, we would all have crawling eyebrows!

Dad took me by the arm and all but dragged me from the spot. I knew better than to argue or show my displeasure. It would only make my father more certain that the Malfoys were a bad influence. Although why he would think the Malfoys would have any more influence on my actions than my own family did was beyond me.

All I said was "Yes sir." as he pulled me towards the elevator.

When we reached the MLE floor I was led to a small room. There were two witches and one wizard. Dad introduced them as Madam Bones, who was head of the MLE, Mr. Yaxley and Madam Hopkirk.

All in all it took almost an hour. I had to explain the details of the animagus spell, recite the laws governing animagi and transform in to my animagus form.

The last was the worst as I had to submit to poking and prodding so they could register all of my markings, and then they used the Homorphus spell to force me back in to my human form. That was awful. I found I did not like being suddenly thrust back in to my own body and mind when I wasn't prepared. It made me nauseous and I _really_ wanted to sink my fangs in to one of them. Except I didn't actually have any fangs in my human form.

I wondered briefly how long I would be on punishment if I just bit one of them with my human teeth. One look at my father's warning glare told me it would be a very long time. How did he know I wanted to bite them? Parent's intuition I suppose. Or maybe he was still just irritated over Mr. Malfoy.

Finally it was done and I was a fully registered animagus.

"I cannot impress upon you strongly enough" Madam Bones said, handing me a little card with my registration number on it, "how very serious using your animagus form for illicit or illegal purposes is. Such as… oh, say biting people, for example." There was a twinkle in her eye when she said this. Did ALL of them know I wanted to bite them? Maybe I wasn't the first to wish bodily harm on their little committee after being subjected to poking and prodding and the nauseating side effects of that awful Homorphus spell. I hope someone had actually managed to get a good chomp in!

When we left the room Dad sat me on yet another bench and instructed me to wait quietly and patiently for Percy to collect me.

When Dad and the two witches had left I promptly pulled out the sandwich Mum had packed for me. Like she had known being forced to perform that much magic, especially like some trained animal, would leave me feeling drained. I was very grateful for my Mum in that moment.

As I was trying hard to eat my sandwich without wolfing it down like some… trained animal Mr. Yaxley left the room. I was surprised to see Mr. Malfoy approach him.

The two spoke quietly for a few minutes when I saw Mr. Yaxley hand Mr. Malfoy a scroll.

It looked like the file that all of the notes about my animagus form had been painstakingly written in. That would be incredibly unlikely though. Why would Mr. Malfoy want that scroll? And to do what with it? It is unlikely to be very interesting to anyone except me and the Ministry. Right?

And besides just not being interesting to Mr. Malfoy, I could have told him everything he would find in the file. Or he could just look it up. It was all a matter of public record after all.

I felt better. There was no way he had just been handed my file to slip beneath his robes. Absolutely not. The very notion was beyond absurd.

The letters that were visible "sley" were only a coincidence. Lots of words ended with those letters. Paisley and parsley, for instance. That scroll could have been nothing more than decorating tips or a recipe for… something with parsley.

I had no reason what so ever to believe they were the last part of "Weasley".

Then why did I feel so uncomfortable about what I had just witnessed?


	34. The Snake Returns to Hogwarts

I was actually sorry to say good bye to Sirius. He had been there for me during a time when I was at my lowest with the boggart and at my highest when I transformed for the first time.

"I will see you again soon, Alya" he promised "and you will have to tell me all of the trouble you get in to as a snake!"

"She will do no such thing, Sirius Black!" Mum warned him, making both of us laugh.

"Yes cousin." He intoned dutifully, dropping a wink at me. He was so mischievous and handsome I probably would have developed a crush then and there if I did not already have Draco. He reminded me of Fred and George in a way. Although he was sad in a way I hoped neither of them ever would be.

At Kings Cross I _finally_ got to see my friends! Those two weeks had felt like an eternity!

The girls and I squealed as we hugged and hopped around each other like over eager kittens. Hardly fitting for the vicious snakes we were supposed to be. Frank and James just grinned at us and accepted my hugs and kisses like the good friends they were. I pretended not to know James wanted more and he pretended he did not want more.

Which was good because in that moment I saw the Malfoys enter with Draco in tow.

He smirked at me in that heart stopping way he has and walked over with a strut only Draco Malfoy could manage.

Mindful of the parents surrounding us, he only gave me a very chaste un-boyfriend like kiss on the cheek, but it still made my heart leap.

Reaching out to stroke my cheek where I had blushed he grinned down at me. "I love it when you blush like that." Which of course made me blush more.

My mother cleared her throat behind me, making me wish she were anywhere but right here right now. But what as I going to do? _Not_ hug and kiss my parents goodbye? I would never hear the end of it!

I rushed over to say goodbye and received the usual warnings about behaving myself and getting good marks and not punching my brother in the nose.

"No promises." I smirked looking over at Ron who was glaring at me making us all laugh.

When we got on to the train Draco dragged me to an empty car for a proper welcome back snogging session. We would both join our usual crowd soon but this had become a ritual ever since the dementors searched the train.

After both of us were a little breathless he smiled down at me as I wiped my lipstick off of his face. "So, my father tells me you completed your ritual over the spring break."

"I did, want to see?" I couldn't believe how excited I was to show him!

He sat down with a nod and motioned for me to go ahead. This time I wanted to make certain my clothes stayed firmly on so I concentrated very hard to change them with me.

As soon as I had transformed I slithered up his outstretched hand. He was soooo warm. It felt good and comfortable and safe.

"Even if I did not know it was you, I would have guessed" he said bringing me close to his face "You have the same eyes."

I flicked my tongue out to taste the heat of his nose before sliding back down to change to my human form.

"That is amazing Alya. I am so proud of you. I know how hard you worked for this." He scrunched up his face "And how much you sacrificed not having any of this" he motioned towards himself "for an entire month."

Ahhh, my boyfriend, ever so humble! Not that he was wrong…

"Yes well, no more sacrifices!" He looked… I don't know strange when I said that, but I thought nothing of it at the time.

We took our leave of each other for the time being. The other Vipers could not stand his group of friends, and really neither could I. We never sat in the same car on the way to school.

I was anxious to show off my new form to them. They were suitably appreciative, although Pria kept wanting to try to add eyelashes to my non-existent eyelids.

When we arrived at school we were almost immediately bombarded with homework. As though the professors were angry they had not been able to torment us for two weeks. Draco was ever the attentive student. The only thing that kept him from being an utter swot was how much he detested that in Hermione Granger.

Professor McGonagall pulled me aside at once to check my form and my registry card. She was beaming at me when I showed her how quickly I could change and that my clothes and jewelry were no problem.

"I left so many earrings behind when I first started changing" she confided "that I finally stopped wearing them!"

After I was done with Professor McGonagall, I was surprised to see Professor Snape waiting for me.

"Come." Was all he said before turning with a swish of his cloak. Oh how I wanted to be able to do that with the flair that he did it!

When we reached his office he turned to me, his fingers tented in front of him. "What do you know about legilimency and occlumency?"

I thought about it long and hard "Legilimency allows the user to influence another's thoughts. Sometimes even see images of what they are thinking about. Some people think this is mind reading, but I read it is much more subtle than that. Sometimes people do not even know they were influenced until it is too late."

He nodded his approval at me and almost smiled. I was so happy to have pleased him!

"And occlumency?" he stared straight in to my eyes. Almost my soul it felt like.

"Occlumency protects you from a legilimens attacks. It allows a skilled user to protect their minds and a very skilled user can even plant false memories and visions so that a legilimens does not know they are lying. It can also allow the practitioner to avoid the affects of veritaserum…. Professor." I added the last bit belatedly. He did not seem to notice.

"Very good. You will have lessons with me in the practice of both. You will tell no one about this." He started walking towards the door; clearly he felt our conversation was over.

"But Professor… where will I tell the others I am going?" I really wanted him to train me, but I didn't know how I was going to get away with telling no one.

"You are intelligent enough to figure this out on your own Miss Weasley. Deal with it." Oh joy, when I had to deal with things suddenly my intelligence was good enough and not just copying things like that stupid picture he had shown me when he wanted me to start dueling lessons.

"I suppose… I could cause enough of a disturbance to warrant detention for the rest of the year…" from the way he glared at me I could tell this would not do.

"Or maybe not, Perhaps I could…" I thought about it "Perhaps I could tell people I was working as your Professor's assistant helping grade papers and such?"

He nodded his approval and ushered me out of his office in to the corridor.

What was it with all of these adults and their weird secretive natures? If I didn't know better I would have sworn there was something sinister going on.


	35. The Final Task

**First, to all of those who have reviewed and sent constructive criticism and positive feedback, and even those who just quietly keep reading you are all amazing and you are why I keep writing! This story now has over 50k reads!**

 **Sakura Lisel - the reason that Alya is in Draco's classes was explained in Chapter 6. She was advanced a year due to her abilty to memorize everything she reads.**

 **As to Alya being a brunette that little grid they give you in high school to show genetics and who can produce what is meant to give you a VERY rudimentary understanding of genetics. Once you have taken more advanced classes you will realize you literally got the** **equivalent of learning your ABC's before learning to read. Geneticists have confirmed this is pure myth that two red heads cannot produce a brunette (as my family of red heads and brunettes could have told you without an advanced degree. It depends on the saturation of the gene as in CANON, meaning JK Rowling has stated Cedrella Weasley nee Black was a brunette, clearly Arthur's genes contain a fair amount of the genetic material necessary to produce brunettes.**

 **udelDOTedu/~mcdonald/mythintroDOThtml for more reading.**

 **Alya is absolutely NOT adopted, knowingly or otherwise. But how about this? Relax and enjoy the story without turning it in to homework, eh? No one should be taking this as an opportunity to study. Except Hermione, of course ; But your review style made it pretty clear who you are. I am glad you are reading again and hope to put our little spat behind us.**

The next two months were brutal.

I finally knew the sinister thing that was going on. Professor Snape was trying to kill me or drive me mad. I really wasn't sure which I would prefer.

The lessons were hard. Harder than anything I had ever done, even the animagus ritual could not compare.

Night after night he would test me trying to pry in to my mind. He would yell at me to test my emotional strength and then attempt to study my mind. He would suddenly appear in an empty corridor to surprise test me.

I did get good at working the dramatic swirl of my cloak. I was teased mercilessly by Fred and George when they caught me practicing! I swirled away from them with a glare, causing even more laughter to trail behind me. I wished I had ever learned how to sigh dramatically. I settled for a good glare at both of them.

I was getting to be OK at legilimens, but nowhere near what anyone would refer to as a "skilled" practitioner. Professor Snape said I was a natural occlumens. Probably from all of the practice I had shutting my family and snots like Pansy Parkinson down. He was finding it harder and harder to get past my defenses. He still managed because he was so skilled at it, but the first time I pushed him from my mind I suddenly knew what made those who really loved playing Quidditch so excited about winning a game. I thought nothing except the feeling of a new investment and watching my portfolio grow would ever give me that feeling.

It made some things a little awkward. I always knew when Draco wanted to go further and had to pull himself away for instance. Or when Pansy wanted to go further.

Usually with Draco, the bitch.

And it made James' puppy dog eyes so much harder to bear.

But I also knew when my friends were feeling down or upset about something. It was a far cry from being able to really see their thoughts or any images. And I was a thousand leagues from being able to influence anyone, but it was progress and I was pleased.

I knew for instance that Harry was absolutely terrified about the last challenge.

I saw him sitting alone one night in the library one night when everyone else had left and I had special permission to stay late because there was no way I was going to finish my essay for Ancient Runes. Professor Babbling had assigned four feet on the "unknown" rune representing the number seven. If it was unknown how in the name of Salazar Slytherin was I going to come up with four feet?! I was tempted to talk about the seven small migraines the assignment had cost me. Something told me Professor Babbling did not have the kind of sense of humor required to appreciate in depth details about my trials and tribulations with the essay itself.

Finally, tossing the thing aside hoping I could get Frank to writ it for me, he is a wiz at runes, I went over to sit next to Harry. "Hi Harry." I said quietly causing him to jump slightly.

"Oh, hi Alya." He sounded positively miserable.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I didn't bother to elaborate, what else could I mean but the final challenge?

He looked surprised by my offer "No…I …. Thank you, but I don't think anyone can help me now, I don't even really know what the final challenge will be. But thank you for offering."

"You sound surprised that I would." Had no one else been helping? Surely Hermione had been?

"No... I mean, well, yes, it is just that you are…" he hesitated.

"An evil Slytherin who you would expect to kick you when you were down?" I smiled gently at him.

"No, not exactly that you are… but you are the Slytherin girlfriend of Draco Malfoy and he has not exactly been silent about his hopes that I fail." He seemed a bit embarrassed to have said anything.

Ah yes, _that_ incident. I still wanted to murder Moody for that. He was… oh… competent enough, but for some reason he really hated Draco. "Just because Draco and I are together doesn't mean I want you to fail, Harry Potter." I said sternly sounding just like my mother for a moment "I have a perfectly good mind and I use it."

Harry nodded at me "Right… ermm… thanks Alya."

I got an image just for a second. Moody, he was looking very intently at Harry. Frighteningly so. I mean the man is a terror but this…

Harry, about Professor Moody… I think you should…" I was stopped by a shadow over me.

"Listen to what he says and get some sleep?" It was Moody himself.

"Umm.. yes, alright then." Harry looked between the two of us sensing the tension.

"And you need to go off to bed too, Weasley." Moody glared down at me.

"I have permission to be here, Professor. To finish my essay for Ancient Runes." I told him stubbornly.

"Which you are not doing, so off to bed." There was no way around it.

Over the next few days I had almost managed to convince myself that what I saw was a figment of my imagination. But I could not quite manage to shake the uneasiness.

The day of the final challenge loomed and it seemed the entirety of Hogsmeade was filled with visitors and would be spectators. Even the Hogs Head tavern was crowded.

The Vipers and I had even taken to going down to the deep dungeons to play exploding snaps or just hang out

The night before the challenge Draco had joined us and I sat on the floor between his knees while he played with my hair. Pria, ever the sensitive one, was fretting over the challenge.

"I am just saying, Frank… what if it actually kills one of them?" she was worrying her lip between her teeth.

Frank lifted his head from Esme's lap. The two kept pretending they didn't "like" like each other, but it was pretty obvious they did. I never had MY head in his lap. Of course Draco would not have appreciated that anyway, but still.

"Pria… they have made it much safer. No one is going to get killed." He laid back down and let Esme stroke his hair.

"But just saying…" she continued.

"DON'T say. That is the trick." Mora chimed in "Don't speak it in to existence."

We all went back to our own thoughts, James and Mora were playing chess and Draco and I were just enjoying being together.

The next day the place was absolute chaos. All of the stands were filled, strangers were tromping all over the grounds and anyone who was anyone was taking up residence at the castle. I hated it. I wanted nothing more than to stay in my rooms, but Fred and George had roped me in to playing book keeper for their little betting operation since I would remember who bet what and on whom. No matter how many times I told them I was no good with numbers they kept wanting me to set odds. Money I can do, numbers not so much.

It was announced the final challenge would be a maze. A horrifying, dangerous, potentially lethal maze.

I refused to stay all day and eat whatever grubby thing was passing as food at this event. Absolutely not. I had an evil Slytherin image to uphold. I would eat like a civilized person with a knife and fork at a proper table.

Plus it got me away from the bugs. I have no idea what mosquitoes and other nasty flying bugs eat when they are not feasting on tender Weasley witch flesh. They starve I suppose.

I came back in time to see sparks sent up from Fleur's wand. She was out then. Some time later Viktor Krum's wand sent up sparks. So it was just Harry and Cedric now. No matter what Hogwarts would take home the prize!

We all waited on pins and needles to see who would return. There was an incredible amount of excitement when BOTH did!

Until the screaming started.

Until Harry was shouting Voldemort had returned.

Until we all realized Cedric was dead.

Pria became hysterical believing she had accidentally wished it in to existence.

I went looking for my family. For Draco. For anyone who could make sense of this.

I found Draco first and threw myself in to his arms. He comforted and soothed me.

It was some time before I remembered my manners and turned to say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. I was very surprised to see only Mrs. Malfoy. "I am so sorry, Mrs. Malfoy. I did not mean to be rude…"

She smiled down at me indulgently. "That is quite alright my dear, I am certain this has been very upsetting for you."

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy, it has. I am still in a bit of shock. Has Mr. Malfoy gone to see what he can do to help?" I ignored Draco rolling his eyes as I immediately asked after his father.

"Oh yes Alya, he most certainly has." She smiled down at me.

Something in that smile sent chills down my spine.

Why was it these people who I admired above all others were the ones who could also make me feel so uneasy at the same time?

I did admire them above all others… didn't I?

It was just as I was thinking that when my father finally found me. Just like when I was a frightened little girl I threw myself in to my Daddy's arms, certain he would make everything alright.

He stroked my back and hair just like when I was a little girl.

"shhhhh now, it will be alright." Just his voice made me feel safe again. In that moment it did not matter how much we had fought. It did not matter that we did not see eye to eye financially. This was my Daddy and I desperately needed him to make me feel like it was all going to be OK.

Draco politely shook his hand as Daddy held my trembling form.

Soon after Mrs. Malfoy and Draco left, with Draco giving me a kiss on top of my head before leaving with his Mum.

I knew things were going to get bad. At the time I had no idea our years of peace were going to be interrupted by years of war. At the time all I could really see was how it would affect me personally and profoundly

I had no idea at the time that when Draco kissed me goodbye it would be the l would see him for a year.


	36. Interlude Peace Years

**The years of peace have ended and Alya has been personally affected by the changes.**

I smoothed my blue school robes down. They were certainly more comfortable than my Hogwarts robes had been. The blue silk was incredibly soft and luxurious, but I would trade it all for one owl from home. I had given up hearing from Draco, I had not heard from him since I entered this hellish exile, but someone from my family. Ginny at least. And certainly from the Vipers.

They were very good at sneaking letters to me. But it had been almost two weeks with nothing. I had heard all about that horrid woman Umbridge who had taken over the school. And somehow got my Draco caught up in her foolishness. But then I suspected Mr. Malfoy had ordered him to play nice and do well.

It would soon be the summer holiday and I was determined to go home. I could scarcely believe that what was once a punishment, to be removed from my school and sent home now became the one thing I desperately wanted.

I sighed as I waited for Madame Bisset the astronomy professor to arrive. It was late and my eyes immediately went to the stars searching out Draco and Alya, so close and yet so far away in the night sky. I think that was why astronomy had become my favorite subject, because it helped me feel closer to Draco.

I still remember being dragged to this place against my will. I shouted at Professor McGonagall as she led me to my doom. "You promised, PROMISED that I would not be taken away because of my abilities!"

I had broken away from her and grabbed a hold of Professor Snape's robes. "Please, please Professor, I am begging you, don't send me away!" I buried my face against his chest and wept.

For just a moment I felt his hand stroke my hair before he grasped me firmly by the shoulders and stared down at me, as implacable as ever. "You will be assigned a tutor to continue your legilimency and occlumency lessons. I expect you to make progress."

That was it then, if Professor Snape could not save me from this fate then it could not be avoided. I dropped my head.

My father had led me from the room. I swore to him that I would never forgive him for this. That he would not even let me say good bye to Draco. They had been very clear about that.

I knew they were stopping his letters from reaching me. There was no way he had abandoned me. I knew he still loved me, and I him. And so I looked at our stars and wondered if he were doing the same.

"Steel looking for your young man, yes?" I recognized the voice behind me. Camille. She had surprisingly become my lifeline here. I don't think I could have survived without her!

Our friendship had started out with her apologizing for her behavior "You vere zee on'y von who ever believed I deserved to be valued vor myself." She had said, and we became close. She was my dorm mate, even though I had refused to be sorted in to any of their stupid houses. I HAVE a house, I am a Slytherin and they were NOT taking that from me! Not on top of everything else they had taken. At least my financial advisors were still watching my investments.

"Yes," I said linking my arm through hers "do you think he is watching the same stars?"

"You ask zeese every time, and every time I tell you yes of course." She laughed and hugged me. She always spoke to me in English and I to her in French, which I was glad McGonagall had forced me to take, although I now suspected she knew all along I would be sent here.

My tutor in legilimency and occlumency was none other than Madame Maxine, the headmistress herself. I studied hard, when I returned, and I was determined to do so, I wanted Professor Snape to be proud.

I had managed to learn that my grandmother was in complete agreement with my being sent to this school.

It wasn't that the school was horrible. Or that the students or professors were unpleasant. Quite the opposite. It was all very lovely. If I had not been sent here against my will, or if I had been sent with my friends, with Draco, I could have been quite happy here.

But I wasn't. It wasn't home. And I had been forced to stay here through the holidays. And my friends had to sneak me letters.

I would be turning 15 in a few weeks but I was being treated like a child! In just two years I would be an adult, but no one seemed to remember that. I did not want to miss Draco's birthday, I had already missed the last one. I could not even send him an owl.

Not this year. They could not make me stay here for the summer! There had been talk of my staying with Charlie over the summer, but he was being sent on assignment away from Romania and not allowed to take anyone with him. Bill had already moved back home from Egypt so that was out. They might make me stay with Sirius, that would be OK. I adored Sirius.

We waited for Madame Bisset together, and soon other students joined us. It was not like her to be late. I was surprised when she did appear that she had Madame Maxine with her. My stomach clenched. I could tell by the way they were only watching me that they had come to deliver news. And from the expression on their faces it was not good news.

Mademoiselle Weasley, would you please attend me." Madame Maxine held out her hand. I looked fearfully at Camille who squeezed my arm before taking Madame Maxine's hand and being led off towards her offices.

"Please sit." She motioned towards one of the very comportable fainting couches in the room.

"Madame Maxine," I said carefully sitting "you are beginning to frighten me.

She looked at me with such compassion that I was even more frightened. "I am afraid this will be quite the shock."

She handed me two newspapers. The first announced the death of Sirius Black, now cleared of all charges. I started to cry, I knew I should be trying to master my feelings, but I couldn't do it.

The next was a headline with Draco and Mrs. Malfoy leaving the Ministry "FALLEN FROM GRACE MALFOY'S WIFE AND SON LEAVE TRIAL" and that same page "AZKABAN'S LATEST RESIDENT".

No, it couldn't be. Lucius Malfoy had been involved in the attack on Sirius? At the Ministry? How? Why? And now the Ministry was declaring the Dark Lord's return? And Harry had been attacked by him?

I looked in horror at Madame Maxine. "I must go home! I… Draco needs me!"

"I am very sorry Mademoiselle Weasley, your parents 'ave decided you vill remain 'ere." She actually looked sorry too. That was not a good sign.

"I… see… may I return to my rooms now, I need to… process this." I would not cry again. Now was the time for action not tears and I needed to make certain she could not see my plans. I projected the intent to cry quietly in my dorm seeking comfort from Camille.

"Ov course. I vill 'ave Mademoiselle Avalon zent to your rooms." She walked me to the doors. I took the newspapers with me.

As soon as I reached my rooms I began throwing everything I owned in to my bag with the undetectable extension charm cast on it. I would have to thank Hermione for teaching me that!

Camille came in and saw what I was doing. She picked up the papers and after reading them she went to her own trunk and pulled out a beautiful ermine cloak. "You vill need thees." She said "You must take zee broom and it vill get chilly."

I was so glad we had become friends! I would have to get Gizmo to England. After a moment's thought I knew who I would write to. Quickly penning my letter I handed it to Camille "Please send this off with Gizmo."

I pulled out my trunk and unwrapped my gift from the Spudmore Bro.s for my birthday last year. My very own Firebolt. It would take me where I needed to go.

I hugged Camille. "I am so very glad we became friends. I would not have survived this year without you."

She hugged me back quite tightly "Ov course you vould, you are zo resilient! I vill mees you very much my friend."

After saying my good byes I watched her climb towards the owlery. I climbed to the top of the castle. We were not supposed to go to the roof, but I was not known as the best (OK, only) investigator at Hogwarts for nothing. I knew how to get where I wanted to go.

I was very frightened. I had never gone far on my broom alone, and never without Draco or one of the team with me.

I secured the bag to me and was just about to set off when I heard footsteps running up. I started to hide when I recognized Camille's voice "Alya, are you steel 'ere?"

I stepped out and she thrust a bag in my hands. "Food for zee treep!" I hugged her once more and tucked the food in to my bag.

With a final wave I set off for home.

I would have to fly by night so that no muggles would see me, I knew it would take a few days to get home this way, but I had no choice.

Draco needed me. I would not abandon him no matter what my parents wanted!

He would be there for me no matter what if the roles were reversed!


	37. Prelude to Part II The War Years

It took almost a full week for me to reach my destination. I was cold and exhausted and starving. The food that Camille had packed for me had ran out two days ago and I had been surviving on water from streams and whatever vegetables I could steal from gardens along the way.

It was all worthwhile when I finally reached the small village I had been flying towards. I hoped and prayed that Gizmo had reached his destination before I did.

I was in luck when I knocked on the door Professor Snape answered. He looked right and left and grabbed me by the arm to drag me inside.

"Why would return expressly against orders?" He hissed at me.

"I had to Professor as soon as I saw the newspaper I had to get back to Draco." I gripped the sleeve of his robes "Surely you can understand that?"

He sighed and walked over to the fireplace. "Yes, Miss Weasley, that I can understand."

"As can I." I had missed the presence of the other two people in the room. One was…. Mrs. Malfoy! She was the one who had spoken, The other woman I did not know, but she frightened me. I wanted to move closer to Professor Snape, but I would not show weakness in front of these people.

"Mrs. Malfoy! I came as soon as I could… I had some … difficulties… in reaching here." I kneeled at her feet wishing to take her hands but not quite daring.

"Yes, I am certain you did." She reached out to take my hands in hers, allowing me to give and receive comfort.

"How… how is Draco?" I was so worried about him that all thoughts of food and comfort fled my mind.

"He is much better… now." She smiled up at Professor Snape but I could not miss the tears in her eyes.

"I never would have left him if I had any choice in the matter." I assured her.

"See Cissy?" I ould not miss the sneer and sarcasm in her voice "Draco should be very honored this young lady, a child of the Black and Weasley family if I am not mistaken, has taken it upon herself to prtect him, as if the favor of…."

"I am certain you must be hungry, Alya. I will feed you and then you will return immediately." Professor Snape cut the woman off.

"Bellatrix and I will take her for something to eat and then send her to her parents." Mrs. Malfoy offered.

The other woman sneered "You may do so, Cissy, I am not playing nurse maid to some blood traitor whelp."

I sighed. I knew some people felt that way about my family. I knew the Malfoys felt that way about the rest of my family.

"That is unnecessary, Narcissa" Professor Snape refused on my behalf "I am quite capable of feeding a young lady and returning her to her home."

I was startled when Mrs. Malfoy stood up and hugged me. She whispered "I knew we made the right choice. I knew you were the one."

Before I could ponder her strange words she left, taking the awful woman with her.

"Come along then." I got the distinct impression he did not want me to stay in his house.

We apparated to the Leaky Cauldron where I ate my fish and chips and drank my fill of butterbeer.

"I have no authority to permit you to stay, Miss Weasley" he held a hand up and my downcast face "but neither will I argue for your return. I have no desire to see you racing about two countries unattended."

I would have hugged him if I thought he would have permitted it.

"But you will have to be the one to convince your parents, and if I am not mistaken you will have the opportunity to do so sooner than you expect." I looked up to see my father bearing down on us.

"I am guessing that seeking asylum from my father is a no-go?" I looked up at him pleadingly.

"10 points to Slytherin for guessing correctly." He almost smiled.

My father did _not_ almost smile. "Thank you Professor Snape for corralling my wayward daughter. I have it in hand now." The handshake they shared was stiff.

"As for you, young lady, gone for a week, no owl, no word of warning. The professors at your school are beside themselves! This was not going to go well.

"The professors at _my_ school know where I am!" I protested.

My father sighed and almost looked defeated. I was sorry about that. "Come along your mother is worried."

My father apparated us to the Burrow. He did hug me tightly to him as he did so. I guess he was more worried than I thought.

My mother did a fair bit of yelling _and_ hugging. "Alya Cedrella Elladora Alexia Weasley, how _dare_ you take off like that?! Do you have any idea how worried we have been? Anything could have happened to you! We have had the Aurors of two countries searching every floo for you!"

"Why would they search the floo's?" It was not until that moment I realized I could have flooed home.

"If you did not floo then how..." for the first time she noticed the broom on my back "do you mean to say you flew that ruddy broom all the way here?"

I nodded. "Mummy, I had to come home, Draco…"

"Oh that boy! All of this over some schoolgirl crush!" she looked ready to spit flames.

"Now Mollywobbles, we were not much older than Alya when we got married." There was my Daddy! I knew he had been hiding somewhere!

"Arthur Weasley you are not suggesting…" Mum started sputtering.

"I am only suggesting we not dismiss her feelings so easily." I turned to him in shock. "Oh don't give me that look, even your dear old father can recognize when he has not built the most open relationship with his teenage daughter."

I hugged him make Mum roll her eyes. "Oh you two, that child has had you wrapped around her finger from birth, Arthur Weasley."

I don't know that I agreed with that, we certainly had spent the last few years at logger heads, but I was glad he was on my side in this.

"You may have dinner and sleep in your own bed Alya, but tomorrow it is straight back to Beauxbatons with you!" Mum looked determined, but I was far more so.

"I won't go back. I am going to Hogwarts or no where this year!" I did not exactly shout this, I refused to act like a stubborn child, but she needed to know the way of things. "I will drop out. I have enough money to last me as long as I wish. I won't work. I will just be a very wealthy lay about!"

Mum opened and closed her mouth a few times "Now see here young lady as long as you live under this roof…"

"Then I won't live under this roof. I will find a small flat and live there." She and I glared at each other.

"Molly… even if we force her to go back, do you really want to risk her running about unescorted in times like this?" I stared at my father in shock.

More so at my mother when she gave in "Very well, but if you stick one toe out of line I will petition the Ministry to hand over control of your funds to your father and I until you are of age!"

I was so happy I hugged them both.

"I will take you to Hogwarts tomorrow, Alya, for tonight, eat and sleep." My father gently pushed me in to the chair.

I was too happy to argue about anything, I would eat liver and bile to be allowed to go back to Hogwarts and see Draco!

The next day Dad and I appeared in Professor Dumbledore's office. "I must say young lady, I know how loyal students are to their school, but You may be the first one I have ever heard of who crossed two countries and the English Channel on a broom to return!"

I blushed "Yes Professor… I just really needed to come home." His twinkling eyes made me feel much better, like he understood.

"Well, I shall leave you to it then." Dad nodded to Professor Dumbeldore on his way out.

"Professor…" I began not knowing why I thought he would understand. "Have you ever really truly cared about someone who everyone else thought was a bad idea? Maybe even a bad person, but you just couldn't stop caring about them?"

He had a really far off look in his eyes "Indeed I have Miss Weasley, indeed I have."

I nodded and smiled him, off to find my boyfriend.

And indeed I did. With Pansy wrapped around his arm and him looking happy about it. He looked at me in shock when I walked into the Great Hall.


	38. Return to Hogwarts

**Lizard21, that is EXACTLY why I would never want to be a mind reader**

 **Part II The War Years**

 **Chapter 38 Return to Hogwarts**

I heard my name being called as I fled the Great Hall. "Alya! Alya Weasley wait up!"

I turned around and stared in confusion at Harry Potter, who for some inexplicable reason had decided to follow me. "Oh, hello Harry." I steeled myself. I would show Professor Snape that I could control my emotions. I made my mind blank.

He looked over his shoulder towards the now closed doors that effectively shielded my pain "That had to be rough, are you OK?"

"Why yes Harry, I am perfectly fine, when I had not heard from Draco in a year, I knew something was going on. I grieved that failed romance long ago. Just a school girl crush." Lies all lies. I wanted my Mum.

Harry walked up to me slowly "Hug me."

I blinked "Do… what?"

He put his arms around me "Hug. Me. Nothing but that will drive Malfoy crazy. And I have a vested interest in driving Malfoy crazy."

I looked at him in disbelief and then started laughing. "Ginny is going to kill me." I was pleased to see him blush, he might have a whole other reason for wanting me to hug him… could he be trying to make Ginny jealous? No matter I would explain to her later. I hugged him tight. I had to admit, it felt good. In a strictly platonic way, Harry gave great friendship hugs.

As happy as I was to see Harry blush, I was far more pleased to see Draco scowl when he opened the door. Pansy was hot on his heels. He looked stunned.

Good, the bastard.

Draco sneered when he went past "One Weasley twin not enough for you, Potter?"

Harry ignored him "I am glad he was just some school girl crush, want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

"Absolutely, Harry. I would love to." I heard Draco hiss and Pansy whine.

"Drakey, why don't you take me to Hogsmeade?" I didn't even bother to look at them.

"Shut up Pansy." I definitely heard him stalk away.

When they were both gone Harry started laughing. I heard another laugh from the doorway. "Ginny?"

I ran and threw my arms around my twin "Are you OK with this?" I whispered.

"Whose idea do you think it was?" She grinned at me.

"Best twin ever!" I hugged her again.

"No, not really, but let that bastard hurt you and I will make him suffer." That was the Weasleys in a nutshell. We can say and do what we want to each other, but no one else gets to hurt one of us.

I heard three squeals from behind me. The Vipers! Ginny let me go with a wink and I threw myself in to the arms of my friends.

"Come on." Pria said, "That had to be a harsh welcome home. Let's go to the deep dungeons and talk."

Ahhh Pria, ever the sensitive one. I nodded and as we started away I heard Harry call out "Next weekend, Alya!"

I nodded happily. I was crushed by Draco throwing me over for Pansy, especially after everything I had done to return to him, but damned if I would show it!

Frank and James met us down in the deep dungeons with butterbeer and snacks courtesy of the house elves.

Finally, alone with my friends I could be myself. And apparently myself wanted to sob hysterically because that was what I did for the next hour. When I was done and my friends had picked me up from my misery we went upstairs.

Draco was sitting on the couch alone. I didn't know where Pansy was and I didn't care. I missed him. "Hello Draco." I said with as much good will as I could muster.

"Alya…" he couldn't quite meet my eyes "Why did you decide to return?"

"The headmistress of Beauxbatons, Madame Maxine, showed me the newspapers with what happened to Sirius and your Dad. So I came home." I couldn't believe he didn't know that!

"Of course, you would want to be here for Saint Potter after his precious godfather died." Draco sneered at me. He had never looked at me that way before. Others yes, but never me…

"Draco… Sirius was my friend as well." What was wrong with him.

"How wonderful for you. Did you forget how much my Dad did for you and now your precious Potter has had him thrown in Azkaban?" I was so conflicted. I had truly admired Mr. Malfoy, but if what they say he did was true.

I tried again "Draco, you know how much I admire your father. Of course I am grateful for everything…"

"You know what? Spare me _Weasley_. I really don't care what you thought of my Dad." He got up and started to walk towards his rooms.

He sounded so hateful. He was my best friend. Until just a few hours ago I thought he was my boyfriend. "Draco… I didn't come back for your Dad, and I didn't come back for Sirius or Harry. I came back for you. You have always been my best friend."

He barely paused. I could see him tense up "Find another one, Weasley, you are surrounded by them."

I was at the bottom of the stairs looking up as he started to open his door. I was barely aware of the tears rolling down my cheeks. I couldn't believe I was losing my best friend!

He looked down at me. I could see the pain on his face, but he still opened his door and closed it. A few moments later Pansy went in behind him sneering down mockingly at me.

As I had not been expected to return, my room had been given to a first year. The only thing they had left was a private room that was the legacy room of the Shafiq. Many of the Sacred 28 had their own private rooms here. Not the Weasley's since it was never really expected one of us would be in Slytherin. I guess this was the new renegade Weasley private room.

I went in and cast a locking spell. I refused to continue crying over Draco. I looked over my class schedule that had been delivered. Great, almost every class was with Draco and of course Pansy. That wasn't going to be awkward.

I had no classes until the following Monday, so I mostly spent the rest of the week re-acclimating myself to the school. I was so happy to be back. I sent an owl to Camille to let her know what happened and that I was safe at Hogwarts.

The rest of the Vipers were surprised that Camille and I had become friends. I explained it all to them. James looked incredibly uncomfortable. As my friend I was sorry about that. As the first boy who had cheated on me? He could bite me.

That weekend I met Harry at Hogsmeade and we had a really good time. I think he just enjoyed being around someone who had cared about Sirius almost as much as he had.

Draco and Pansy were there. He looked very angry that I was there with Harry. I didn't want to hurt him, but he had not given any thought to MY pain, so why should I care? Except I could not deny that I did.


	39. Draco's Suspicious Behavior

I could not help but wonder constantly about Mr. Malfoy

Oh, of course I felt horribly guilty. Disloyal even. The man had attacked my friends and family. And I was no longer naïve enough to believe he did it under an imperius curse the way I had when I was younger.

But he had been kind to me. Beyond helpful. And I could see no personal gain in it for him. He had been a mentor in the financial world and without him I would likely have squandered my chances or had them squandered for me.

I wanted desperately to bring him some comfort, but I did not know how I would accomplish this. I started researching everything I could.

The place was an abomination! Filled with dementors and those humans who work there are terrifying examples of wizards inhumanity to wizards. They are all poor people who have had their souls sucked out!(*) It was ready made slavery.

I would rather see someone executed than have that happen to them, even if he did try to kill people I love.

I could not understand how as a society we could do that to anyone. I vowed to find a way to reach him. Galleons speak volumes, as the saying goes. I sent a letter to my financial advisor, who also happened to be Mr. Malfoy's financial advisor, to ask his advice on this matter. Goblins don't care about wizard issues; it is unlikely he would run tattling on me to my parents.

Within a week I had my response. It was true that with the right amount of gold one could smuggle in blankets and better food and even letters to an inmate.

I wrote back at once including a sealed letter to be delivered. I wanted blankets and comfort for Mr. Malfoy.

I mean, it wasn't like I was petitioning for his release or hiring expensive barristers for him. I just did not want him to suffer unduly. His wife and son, my… well, I didn't know what Draco was any longer, were suffering enough.

In my letter I wrote about how Draco was doing and promised to send pictures next time once I knew this letter and my gifts had arrived.

It was a couple of weeks later when I received a private owl. There was a letter from Mr. Malfoy! He thanked me for my efforts and promised to have a sum transferred to my personal accounts that could be used to continue making his life easier.

I felt badly about keeping this from Draco, so one day when no one was around I cornered him in the common rooms. He had not been speaking to me since I had started unofficially "dating" Harry Potter. We weren't really dating and Ginny was almost always with us, but it pleased me to let him think so.

"Draco…" I did not really know how to begin and it broke my heart all over again. Once I could have told him anything.

"What do you want, Weasley?" He asked with the sneer he now almost exclusively reserved for me.

"I thought… maybe you would like to read this…" I handed him the latest letter from his father in which he thanked me for the bed and desk I had managed to have smuggled in.

Draco turned even more pale than usual. In fact the more I looked at him the more I realized he looked more than just pale. He looked downright ill. He had dark circles under his eyes. I shook myself. I would NOT care if he was sick. I just refused to.

"Why… why are you doing this…?" Had I expected gratitude?

He sounded anything but grateful, the foul git. "Because I did not like the thought of your father suffering. Is that so wrong?"

"YES!" He shouted "More wrong than you can imagine. Stay out of this Alya."

I was getting angry "Oh, so back to first names now are we? You lost the right to tell me what to do Draco Malfoy. Go boss your new girlfriend around!"

"Alya… please, I am begging you, stay out of this. I am trying to protect you." He looked almost desperate.

But by this point I was beyond caring "From what? Malfoys who actually still care about me? Who still _like_ me? From the peace I enjoyed when Pansy Parkinson was not shoving your new relationship down my throat?"

He looked away at that. Good I hope he did feel guilty the bastard! "It isn't like that?"

"Oh spare me." I waved a hand "As if some silly little school crush is enough to make me care that you are now shagging Pansy."

"I am NOT shagging her!" he shouted "And you know damned well you are more than some school crush."

Did he just say that in the present tense? No. I was not going to be swayed. "Don't lie to me, I saw her going in to your room!"

"Then did you also see me throw her out?!" How DARE he take that tome with me.

But no I hadn't I was too busy crying in my room… "Does it matter? I was dragged out of here, sent in to exile, I didn't get a single letter from you no matter how many times I wrote and I came back to see you together with that dimbo."

"I WROTE YOU!" he was back to shouting. How wonderful.

"Well I never got any letters. And it doesn't change the fact that you are with Pansy." I refused to cry again.

"Things have… changed." He looked down.

"I'll say. I knew from the start Weasleys and Malfoys don't mix. I never should have…." Damned if I was going to say I never should have fallen in love with him.

"You don't seem to feel that way about my parents." He shook the letter, which I promptly grabbed back.

"Because your parents don't treat me like a toy that they can just discard." He reached out to take my hand but I jerked it back. "They still care about me."

"I still care about you! You are my…" he stopped.

"Yeah, now I am your nothing. Not your girlfriend, not your best friend. Nothing." I couldn't help it, now I did start crying. I lost my best friend!

"So you turn to Saint Potter." How dare he sound hurt?

But I couldn't, I just couldn't keep hurting him. "I am not dating Harry, he likes Ginny and she likes him. He has just been a friend to me."

"He put my Dad in prison." He was determined to be stubborn.

"Of COURSE he did, your Dad tried to kill him! Just because I owe your father a great deal and I don't want him to suffer doesn't mean he isn't guilty!" I was crying even harder now, damned it.

"He caused all of this because of him I can't…" he stopped and stubbornly clammed up.

"Can't… what?" I needed to know.

"I can't be with you. Not now, not ever." That was enough, I couldn't take any more.

I ran from the room and the dungeons entirely. I only stopped when I heard Harry, Ron and Hermione arguing. They seemed to have believed Draco had done something. Or Harry did… something with a cursed necklace and Katie Bell.

Harry thought Draco cursed someone? He had been acting dodgy and he looked ill, but this? I waited outside the Quidditch practice area until I got Harry alone.

"Harry… please tell me what you think Draco has been up to." Harry looked at me suspiciously. Trying to decide if he could trust me I guess. He finally started talking and told me everything from his death eater suspicions to the attack on him on the train.

"Well, you were spying Harry…" I commented earning me a scowl.

I listened for a long while as Harry unburdened himself on me.

I did not want to believe any of this. I knew Draco could be a bit extreme in his beliefs, but an out an out Death Eater?

"Harry… I know how much you dislike him" Harry snorted "and" I continued "he feels exactly the same way about you, but a Death Eater? If he is, he is being forced in to it."

Harry looked at me skeptically. "You may be a bit blinded when it comes to Draco, Alya."

"More than a bit. But Harry, I also know his flaws. He would never have the nerve to go through with something like this unless he was forced. He just doesn't have the stomach for real violence." I knew I was right.

"He had stomach enough for it when he broke my nose." Harry reminded me.

"That was not real violence, not on the level we are talking about." Harry seemed to consider this. "Harry, please help me follow him and find out what he is up to. I know all of the secret places where he might go and I am a fair sleuth."

"Better than fair from what I have heard." He praised making me blush.

"Then you will do it? You will help me spy on Draco?" I pleaded.

"I have been waiting all year for someone to ask me that." Harry smiled.

 **(*)I came up with this idea after reading debates on how dementors could feed and care for the humans in the prison.**


	40. Draco Disappears

**Chapter 40 Draco Disappears**

Harry and I spent a lot more time together after that. You might think Ginny would get jealous or angry, but she never did. It seemed to amuse and annoy her all at the same time. She would just roll her eyes at us and tell me to stop talking about Draco. OK, that might explain why she wasn't jealous or angry. As much as I talked about Draco it was pretty clear to everyone involved that all I really wanted was my best friend back.

I found, oddly enough, an ally in Hermione Granger. Ron had started dating Lavender Brown, who alone was tolerable. Sweet at times even. But with Ron she was a Salazar Slytherin-awful twit. That Won-Won business was horrifying! Why Hermione didn't tell Ron she liked him was beyond me. I may not be with Draco, but it was not because of ME. He knew how I felt about him.

Mostly, I had never used the "L" word, but he knew I really cared about him as more than a friend.

And OK, so maybe I was being sneaky with Harry and following Draco around, but it was not like I was doing it for a bad reason. I really wanted to help him. Save him from… something. I wasn't sure what since he never told me what was going on.

I did know he kept disappearing. I mean, Harry has this map and once in awhile Draco was just gone. I had started hanging out in the Gryffindor common room, which I did not like as much as ours, because Draco had Pansy wrapped around him all the time. I could not stomach being in the same room with them. Harry and I were looking over the map when we noticed him just disappear.

"That is impossible, but there it is." Harry said, almost triumphantly. "He must be apparating out of here."

"That is not possible." Hermione said with an exasperated eye roll. "You can't apparate in or out of Hogwarts."

"Oh, right." Harry went back to staring at the map.

"He might be going in to the Room of Requirement." Ron added.

"Room of Requirement?" I was confused.

"Yeah, it is this place where you can get whatever you need, like if you really needed to use the loo it would change in to one." My brother, way to think outside the box.

"Charming." I said.

"Maybe" said Harry, "but why?"

"Maybe he is looking for things in the Room of Hidden Things?" Hermione offered.

I was even more confused. "Room of hidden things? I thought you said he would be going to the Room of Requirement?"

"They are one and the same. The room changes according to someone's needs, remember, so if someone needed a place to hide something…" I was starting to get a sinking feeling.

"Or… find something?" I asked, thinking of how many items I had found in a mysterious room.

"I suppose." She said.

Darned it, I had wished the damned room and its contents in to existence.

"What is wrong?" asked Harry.

A little sheepishly I told them all about how my sleuthing had got started. All three laughed. "Brilliant!" shouted Ron "Why didn't I think of that? It would have been nice to have some spending money!"

I rolled my eyes. "Because all of your brain power is focused on food, Ronald Weasley!"

Everyone laughed at that.

"Do you think maybe you could…" Harry started and then stopped.

"Could… what?" I had a feeling I would not like where this was going.

"Just… ask him what he is doing?" Harry blushed asking me that. "Maybe turn on some charm?" He grew even redder.

"Yeah, like I have the sort of "charm" Pansy Parkinson does." I snorted.

"You are just as pretty as she is." Hermione tried to comfort me.

"Thank you but as I am not willing to have sex with him…" I was interrupted.

"I do NOT want to hear that." Ron childishly put his fingers in his ears.

"I said I was NOT willing to do that Ron!" Brothers!

"Thank Merlin for that." He sighed.

"Still, I suppose I could try. If I can pry him away from Pansy long enough. She really doesn't like me talking to him." I frowned. She kept a tight grip on him for sure.

"Try, we really need to know what he is up to." Harry looked border line obsessed.

"Harry, remember, I am trying to prove he is NOT a death eater!" I needed him to understand that no matter what, this was still Draco we were talking about. The not-so-secret love of my entire 15 years of life.

"I know I know, just… try." I nodded.

This did not prove to be an easy task. Pansy was on me every time I went near him, like his pug nosed bodyguard. OK, she was actually not really pug nosed but it made me feel better to think of her that way.

Plus, the Vipers were being unusually clingy. Especially James. He seemed to think that now that Draco and I were no longer together I would be eager to continue our relationship. Sometimes I looked at him and I wished I could go back to that. Until he foolishly slept with Camille, which was stupid because they were both only fourteen at the time, I had really liked him. It wasn't the earth shattering feeling I got when I looked at Draco, but it was OK. Good even.

And lastly Draco was very clearly actively avoiding me. I really wanted to keep going to the Quidditch games with him, but he made certain he was long gone before I tried. And short of hanging out in the boy's locker room, which would earn me months of detention.

I had given up even trying to talk to him in the Great Hall. Not only did Pansy keep me away, but he refused to talk to me no matter what. I just kept to the Vipers and occasionally sat with Gryffindors when Harry wanted to talk to me about something. I could practically feel Draco's eyes burning a hole in the back of my head whenever I did this. Or even talked to James for that matter.

Well, that was just too damned bad. I started talking to James even more. I once even reached out and held on to his shoulder while I was laughing at something he had said. I felt a little bad to use James that way, but it felt good to have Draco glaring at us. He may know Harry is no threat now, but let him worry about James. And Mora and Pria could keep their disapproving looks to themselves.

Harry cornered me one day outside of the Great Hall to tell me that he had finally figured out a plan, he would enlist Kreacher and Dobby in the Case of the Disappearing Snake, his code name not mine!

When Draco accidentally overheard us he sneered "Does your new boyfriend know you are playing Hide the Snake with Potter?"

All I could do was stare at him in shock. How could he say such a cruel thing to me?

I promised myself I wouldn't cry over him anymore.

I knew I had only lied to myself when I ran from the corridor in tears.


	41. Detention with James

Maybe I had been feeling a little reckless because of my encounter with James. Or maybe we were on a collision course anyway, but James and I both ended up in detention.

When I ran back in to the common rooms in tears James found me curled up in a chair weeping.

He ran immediately to my side. Why oh why couldn't I like him back instead of Draco?

(Because he is a clingy twit who cheated on you first my mean inner voice whispered to me.)

"Alya, what happened?" He was so concerned sounding.

I couldn't help it, I blurted out all of my Draco problems, including the latest one.

Draco chose the exact wrong moment to come bursting in the doors. James hopped straight up and punched him in the nose.

"James! NO!" I screamed almost at the same time shrieking started behind me.

"DRAKEY! Call your attack dog off, Weasley or ELSE!" No one had to tell me, I knew she had her wand at my back. The joys of legilimens.

But I was faster. I whirled around and hit her with a stunning jinx so fast she did not have time to utter a word. She should have attacked first if she was going to!

One of the paintings must have gone off to rat me out because before I could manage to do any harm with her stunned Professor Snape came bursting through the doors.

The look of shock and disappointment was almost more than I could stand. I dropped my wand and stared at the floor.

Professor Snape sighed and said "Episkey." Snapping Draco's nose back in to place.

"Does someone care to explain what happened here?" He snapped.

Immediately Pansy started shrieking mayhem and murder, James tried to defend himself. Draco just stared at me and I stared at the floor.

"Miss Weasley, do you have something to add?" He was staring straight in to my mind, I knew he could figure out what had caused this, but all I said was "No, Professor."

"Very well Miss Weasley, as this is your second offense of violence on school grounds, and clearly the last punishment left no impression you will spend a month of detention. With me." He turned to glare at James "Mr Gamp, you shall do likewise with Madame Pomphrey in the infirmary."

James cried foul that I had only been defending myself and that he had been defending my honor. But the evidence was clear, Pansy had been stunned, I had not. Draco's nose was broken and defending my honor was not a defense in Professor Snape's mind.

He demanded that Draco and Pansy be given equal detentions. This was exactly the wrong tactic to take with Professor Snape. He did not take the demands of students well. I could have told James this, but of course he had not bothered to ask me how one should defend oneself against earning detention.

Which was not to do so at all, of course.

So I would not bother to defend my actions. I said only "Yes, Professor." I knew what I was in for. His foray in to my mind told me that. This was going to be a very painful detention.

He swirled from the room.

Pansy smirked at us "Have fun in detention!" as she flounced upstairs.

I could feel Draco staring at me, so I finally met his eyes.

I should not have done that. The blood on his face and shirt caused the color to drain from my face.

"Alya! No, don't, I am OK, see?" Draco started to reach out to me, but James beat him to it and took me up to my room.

That month was precisely as brutal as I thought it would be. Professor Snape drilled me until I thought my very mind would collapse and then he drilled me some more. The days when I did NOT end up vomiting and shaking were far outnumbered by the days I did.

On the weekend before my last week of detention shouted as usual "Control your emotions, Weasley!" He shouted and went back in again. Only when I could finally push him out did he let me go.

"Next weekend you will serve your detention in the infirmary as well." He instructed as I gathered my things. "I have business elsewhere."

I was elated and saddened at the same time. "I… yes Professor." Was all I replied.

"Is there a problem, Weasley?" He glared down at me.

"No Professor, I had just hoped to spend it with you instead of in the infirmary." I tried not to pout.

This earned me a rare smile from him "I shall take it as flattery that you prefer time with me than scrubbing out bed pans without magic, Miss Weasley."

"No! It is not that… well… not _only_ that." I confessed.

He ushered me out the door "Next weekend, infirmary, Weasley."

So that next weekend I ended up right where he told me to be. In the infirmary, scrubbing filth with my gloved hands instead of with magic.

As soon as James and I were allowed to leave by Madame Pomphrey, we exited in a hurry. But not before she made it quite clear that she did not want to see one more broken nose caused by me. Just outside of the infirmary doors James cornered me.

"What are we doing Alya?" He asked very seriously.

I thought he had bumped his head in there! "Serving detention and scrubbing bed pans, James, why? What did _you_ think we were doing?"

He shook his head at me "No, you and I what are _we_ doing? As a couple?"

"A couple of what?" I was tired and could not quite piece together what in the name of Merlin he was trying to say!

"A _couple_ couple, Alya!" he said, clearly exasperated.

"Oh… right… ummm…." Just then he tried to kiss me! It felt creepy and wrong, and like I was cheating on Draco, which is ridiculous! I put my hands on his chest and shoved him back "NO JAMES!"

"This is about Malfoy, isn't it?!" he shouted "He doesn't care about you! He was with that girl Pansy right from the start!"

"This isn't about anyone except me and you, James." I tried to put some distance between us.

"I don't believe you!" he shouted again.

"I believe Weasley told you "no" Gamp." A familiar voice spoke up. Draco, because of course Draco.

James stalked off at that.

"Are you alright, Alya?" How dare he sound concerned?

"Oh, what do YOU care?" I snapped at him before leaving down a different hallway than James had, leaving Draco looking stunned.


	42. Finally a Chat with Draco

I had not care at the time how Draco had taken my "What do you care?" comment, but he started looking decidedly worse. He looked stressed and sick all of the time.

I had continued to write to Mr. Malfoy in prison and told him of my concerns. He all but pleaded with me to keep him informed. Which of course I would have anyway.

I still don't know what compelled me to keep writing to Mr. Malfoy. Maybe because I owed him so much. Maybe because it annoyed Draco so much. Or maybe it was just the only part of Draco I could still lay claim to.

I felt like a sick, disgusting stalker. If I had any shred of self worth I would have moved on with someone else. Or maybe just gone back to Beauxbatons.

I had actually been giving that a great deal of thought. Camille and I kept in touch, of course and I knew I would be welcome back. And the school was so beautiful.

But I would be leaving my friends here. As many friends as I had made there, these were my Vipers. We had started out together and I wanted to end together.

Frank had dragged James back by the ear, quite literally, to force him to apologize and swear it would never happen again. James looked so silly and miserable at the same time that all I could do was hug him and laugh while forgiving him.

His worse crime these days had been that he tried to steal a kiss and still liked me. All things considered that was pretty minor. He was easy to forgive.

Draco was much harder. I had now spent two months between crying and being angry at him. Of course he did not exactly seek my forgiveness. He went out of his way sometimes it felt like to make sure I could not forgive him.

I finally started to heal. I was not ready to date anyone seriously yet, but I went out a few times with other boys. Even Roger Davies once, he was incredibly handsome, but not really my type. I also had the feeling he really liked this other girl.

Seamus Finnigan and I sort of went out regularly. Not enough to be called boyfriend and girlfriend, but enough to hold hands on a date.

I was really just trying to let myself have a life again.

And I was succeeding. Except for my promise to Harry to keep an eye on Draco.

One night when I was feeling down I went up to the astronomy tower. The same location at Beauxbatons had always made me feel better. I could look for "our" stars and pretend Draco was looking at the same ones. I now realized how incredibly naïve and foolishly hopeful that had been. Camille had been good enough to humor. I wondered what she was doing that night.

I was surprised someone was already there. I could only see a flash of a robe when I said quietly "Excuse me, I did not realize this spot was occupied."

When I turned to leave I heard a voice call out just as quietly as I had "Alya?"

Of course it would be Draco.

"Oh, hello Draco. I… will just be going…" I could not handle him tonight. I was just getting my act back together. Why in the name of Merlin's back teeth had I ever decided to come up to this tower?

"No, please stay… I… it has been a long time since we talked." He sounded so sad.

I stepped up to the rail beside him, not saying anything. I just stared up at the night sky.

"How… how have you been?" Months of avoiding me and dating that dreadful Pansy and that was the best he could come up with?"

"I have been… better. I am better." Did I sound as pitiful as I felt? I hoped not.

"I am glad. I never wanted to… I never wanted to hurt you, Alya." Then why did you? I wanted to shout.

I just laid my head against the cool column I was standing next to. "I knew from the start it would never have really worked out, Draco. It was… just leprechaun gold. Pretty in the moment but disappearing the next day."

"That isn't true. I… damned it…." I could sense he was actually in tears.

I sighed. "The worst part is you were my best friend. The one I could always count on. I never should have taken it further. Now we don't even have that."

"I never wanted this, I never wanted any of this." He was so miserable.

"I know… Draco, you look… dreadful. You look sick and tired and… so unhappy." I so wanted to comfort him. This was still Draco, my best friend under there and the lov… I stamped out that last thought ruthlessly.

I finally looked up from my column to look at him. His eyes were closed and tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"Draco… please… please talk to me. I am so worried about you." I was crying by this point to.

"I want to, Alya, but I can't. It is… dangerous… as soon as my dad got arrested, I had certain responsibilities handed to me… these people… they would do anything to achieve their goals. I can't get you involved." Oh so noble except…

"You don't seem to mind Pansy getting involved." I said bitterly.

"I don't care about Pansy the way I…" he cut himself off and just looked down at me miserably.

I wrapped my arms around the column in front of me. It was cold and small comfort, but it was better than nothing. The smooth stone quickly grew damp from my tears and my body heat did little to warm it. The worst part is a cold stone column can't hug you back.

Part of me wanted to use my legilimens ability to look inside him, to find out what was going out, but I just couldn't. That would be a gross invasion of privacy.

I could feel Draco moving behind me. I expected him to leave now. Why wouldn't he? We were nothing to each other. Not anymore.

But he didn't leave. I could feel him come up behind me and put his arms just above mine on the stone. We were not quite touching but I could feel the heat from his body warming me.

"I wish things could go back to the way they were." He whispered "When all we had to worry about was winning the House and Quidditch cups when…"

"When you still cared about me." I murmured weakly in to the stone.

"I will always care about you, Alya. I…. damned it, Alya, I love you!" Not quite the way I had once pictured him saying that. In my fantasies there were a lot more flowers and a lot less bitterness. And he didn't have another girlfriend.

"I… love you too Draco. I always have. From the moment I saw you in Flourish and Blotts when I was only eleven years old." I wanted to lean back in to him. Have him tell me it was all changed now that we had said the words. But I did nothing I stayed perfectly still.

He briefly squeezed my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. "I know. I just…"

I don't know what he "just" because he let go and started to walk away.

"I will always love you, Draco." I called to him "Even if you stay with Pansy, even if our story never continues. I will always be here for you."


	43. Slug Club

**I was going to write a different chapter for a different book, but Lizard21 keeps sucking me in with encouraging reviews! So for those who are waiting for other stories to be updated, now you know who to blame!**

 **Lizard21 I was always torn about Lucius. He was good to his family. As good as he could be. And he had friends. Was he a victim of circumstance or was he truly evil? I think it is up for interpretation. Although no doubt JKR would say evil evil evil, lol.**

I avoided Draco after that. Well, I avoided talking to him. I still kept an eye out, both for Mr. Malfoy and Harry.

One weekend when the Vipers went to Hogsmeade we were all sitting at the Three Broomsticks when Professor Slughorn approached us. I had every reason to be grateful to him. He was a very good potion Professor and because of him Professor Snape finally got the position he always wanted.

I smiled up at him "Good afternoon Professor. Beautiful day isn't it?" and it was, the first snow had not appeared yet, but it was crisp and cold and a perfect day for hot drinks with friends and warm snuggly jumpers.

"Indeed it is Miss Weasley, indeed it is! I have a little get together of students, supper and conversation. Your name was presented to me as someone who would be a welcome addition." I was shocked, I had heard of these little get togethers, but I had never expected to get an invitation. Honestly I had not even given it any thought.

"I would be honored to attend Professor." I smiled at him as encouragingly as I could for an invitation I had not really wanted.

"Good, I shall look forward to seeing you there, be on the lookout for your invitation! Enjoy your weekend." He took his leave heading towards the bar.

The rest of the Vipers were far more excited than I was. "I hear he invites special guests, like professional Quidditch players and famous singers!" Mora gushed.

"Oh, how… wonderful." I tried to sound enthused but my friends weren't fooled. They all laughed.

"You could try to pretend to be enthused about meeting famous Quidditch players at least." Frank said laughing "After all, aren't you supposed to be Queen of the Slytherin Quidditch team?"

I sighed "Not in a long time Frank."

He looked embarrassed "I am sorry, Alya, I didn't think…"

"It is OK. Draco exists. I am not going to pretend he doesn't. Things may be … strained in our friendship right now, but I still care about him. But let's not pretend I have to care about Quidditch anymore. That sport has practically stolen my family during the season and I refuse to entertain it as… entertainment." I finished feebly.

"You invested a great deal of money in the best Quidditch brooms ever invented!" Protested James, clearly appalled at my lack of enthusiasm for their beloved sport.

"Ah contraire I invested a small amount of money that turned in to a large amount of money. Which I may remind you as an underage witch I am only allowed to spend some small interest and reinvest. Speaking of investments I also invest in garden gnome repellent. That doesn't mean I am a fan of garden gnomes!" So there!

I heard twin laughter from behind me. Great. "I think Mum would disagree with that last statement, wouldn't you say Freddie?" I glared at George. This was one story I had not shared with my friends.

"Oh indeed I would Georgie. The Great Gnome Rebellion of 1987 suggests that not only are you a fan, but an organizer of Gnome Union Strikes and general mischief maker." I gave a double dose of glaring at Fred.

"Oh? I have to hear this." Chimed in Pria, who I knew had a huge crush on George.

"Don't you dare…" I started but I was too late. They boys were off and running.

"Well, when our little snake was just a wee little snake." Fred started.

"She decided to help out our Mum by organizing the garden gnomes in to a work force." Continued George.

"Except the wee little gnomes did not fancy the idea of being organized in to anything." Fred said gleefully rubbing his hands.

"Especially not housekeepers." George reached over ans snitched a chip off of Pria's plate.

"So one day as she was attempting to teach six of the little monsters to fold socks…" Fred snitched a chip from my plate as I slapped his hand.

"They had enough. They ran around throwing plates at Alya's wee little head and ran out the front door with Mum's new balls of wool." George and Fred by this time had wrapped arms around each other's shoulders and were laughing so hard tears were rolling down their cheeks.

"Oh laugh it up, chuckle heads, it was going swimmingly until then." I defended myself.

"If by swimmingly you mean one of them ate one of the socks they were supposed to be rolling…" Fred said wiping tears.

"And vomited it back up under the dining table…" George finally just swiped my entire plate of chips.

"Then yes, swimmingly!" Fred said standing up. "Shall we Georgie?"

"Absolutely Freddie." Fred stood as well, both satisfied at the chaos they were leaving behind them.

"Why are you two even here?" I grumbled.

"We are thinking of opening a WWW branch right here in Hogsmeade." George said with a grin.

"By Snake, keep her in line for us." Fred said to the rest of the Vipers who were all laughing at my expense.

"We will!" Pria called after them, well, called after George.

"Don't you think he is a bit old for you?" I laughed at her.

"Not at all, why in ten years when we are arguing over what color to paint the nursery it will hardly matter at all.

We all laughed on our way back to Hogwarts.

That weekend was to be my first Slug Club supper. I had Pria and Esme help me dress. Mora was no help since she had to rush to the library to finish an essay.

I was dressed in a nice little black and white gown small kitten heels and my hair was pulled up. I looked almost grown up!

The supper party was OK. Not the greatest night of my life by any stretch of the imagination, but it could have been worse. The Carrow twins were there, Flora and Hestia, and they gave me the willies. Some Ravenclaw girl, Melinda Bobbin. From what Professor Slughorn was saying I gathered her family owned a chain on apothecaries.

Harry was there but he was too busy worrying over Ginny who had clearly had another fight with Dean. I have no idea why she was still dating him, they made each other miserable.

Hermione was also invited, I was happy to be able to speak to her.

Blaise was present, but I wasn't sure where we stood since Draco and I were broken up. He had not been unpleasant to me, merely distant.

He was nice to me at the party. We laughed and joked. Professor Slughorn seemed happy that we were all getting along.

Except the Carrow twins. Or maybe they were. It was hard to tell with them. They were creepy. They were probably the reason Muggles have bad stories about witches!

"I understand you have done quite well in the financial world Miss Weasley." Was that a question or a statement?

"Yes Professor Slughorn. I have been quite lucky." I replied modestly.

"Luck rarely has any bearing on financial success. It is usually hard work and the best advice in the right circumstances." He raised a glass to me "I would love to know who your advisor is."

I felt someone kick me under the table. As Blaise was the only one who was NOT looking at me, I knew it had to be him. "Ah, I could tell you my secrets, Professor Slughorn, but then I would have to jinx you with tangle tongue!" I made a joke of it.

Professor Slughorn laughed with me. I was glad he was taking it as our little joke "Well, I suppose you can't have your secrets getting out for just anyone." He motioned around at our table companions.

At the end of the night I was determined to catch Blaise and find out why he stopped me from discussing my financial advisor. "What was that about Zabini?" I demanded as soon as I saw him alone.

"Draco has given up a lot to keep you out of his family's affairs. Too much for you to ruin it by running your mouth to old Sluggy about Lucius Malfoy." Blaise said firmly.

I wondered all night what he meant by Draco gave up a lot. Did he mean me?


	44. The Pansy Conspiracy

It was late and I was exhausted from detention with Professor Snape. You might be tempted to think he would be easy with me because supposedly I was one of his favorites.

You would be wrong.

He never lets up. He picks apart every one of my insecurities until I can shove him from my mind forcefully. He makes me fight for every inch of my own mind.

I know logically he only has my best interest at heart. I know he only wants me to be safe. But that is logical. When I am tired and feeling personally invaded what is logical no longer matters.

So that night I was not sure what I was seeing.

I entered the common room and saw two bodies entwined in what was obviously a very passionate embrace.

I excused myself with an embarrassed cough and started to make my way upstairs when I froze. I could not have seen the two people I just saw.

It was impossible.

I turned around slowly and stared in to two faces who were clearly just as surprised to see me.

"I… thought you were already upstairs." Said Pansy.

"Obviously." I replied. Staring in to the very red face of her partner, none other than Daphne Greengrass.

I was no prude, nor did I have anything in particular against lesbians.

But… wasn't Pansy with Draco?

MY Draco?

"Care to explain?" I sat down across from them.

"Would you believe I am cheating on Draco?" Pansy asked hopefully.

For a Slytherin she is a really bad liar.

"Nope." I popped the "p".

"OK, fine." Pansy sighed. "Draco asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend to keep you away from him."

"Right. Of course." I nodded "So. Now I am going to kill him."

I started to head up the boy's stairs remembering that there was no magical reason to stop me from doing so.

Ahhhh, those wonderful Founders who believed so in the virtues of the fairer sex. I would have to remember to light candles in their honor.

"No! Wait!" Pansy jumped up and grabbed my arm only to find my wand at her throat.

"Want to give me a really good reason why I should not use this to do permanent damage this time, Parkinson?" I was in no mood to be trifled with this time.

And I really didn't like Pansy. I mean even before she had been all over Draco and his being her beard.

"He only did it because he really cares about you. He doesn't want you involved in the stuff he is involved in this year! He is trying to protect you, Weasley!" She looked sincere.

Funny story? I didn't care.

Daphne was looking back and forth between us looking frightened.

Daphne had never been a bad sort. Quiet, minded her own business. I had never given her much thought. She had a little sister who was a couple of years behind her.

"Fine." I lowered my wand. Daphne visibly relaxed.

So not just a snogging session then. She actually cared what happened to Pansy then.

Someone for everyone then.

"Would it helped if I apologized?" Pansy asked.

"No… Yes… Hell, I don't know." I sat down hard and put my head in my hands. "Just what the hell has Draco got himself in to?"

"I don't know." Pansy said, sitting across from me.

I glared at her, saying nothing.

"No, really, all he said was he could not see himself sitting through charms class next year and a bunch of other non sense… what are you going to do?" she was watching me carefully.

I sighed. I was having a hard time answering her, because honestly? I didn't know.

"I have to talk to him. He may not tell me what he is up to. In fact I expect him to refuse to tell me. But I will never forgive myself if I don't try. I.. I love him." I realized I had never said those words out loud before. Not even to Camille, with whom I had my most adult conversations about Draco to date with.

We had discussed everything from when I would know I would be ready for sex to did I expect to eventually get married to him. And yet I never said the word "love" out loud. Odd that I could say it to the girl who I intensely disliked. Perhaps it was because I so disliked her. Or perhaps it was because now I knew her to be no threat.

Pansy nodded. "Draco is my best friend. We have known each other since we were in nappies. He was the first one I came out to. He was the first one to tell me it was OK to be gay. If you can help him…"

I really did not want to be friends with her, but I supposed I would not really have a choice. I expected Draco to make an effort with the Vipers.

"Alright" I finally said "I am going to have to accept YOU, but damned if I am going to accept Crabbe and Goyle!"

She laughed "They are really not so bad once you get used to them."

"Absolutely not. You can keep them." I shuddered.

Daphne, who finally had decided Pansy and I were not about to duel in the common room relaxed and sat next to her and took her hand. "You could always continue to follow him with Harry."

I started to protest "I never…"

"Forget it" Pansy interrupted "Daph is very perceptive, and probably a seer, if she says you are doing something, you probably are. Whether you admit it or not. Your secret is safe with us. As long as ours is with you."

"We are not ashamed of what we are doing" Daphne quickly added "but they wouldn't let us be room mates any more if they knew."

"Exactly" Pansy said "And there is that whole parents expecting us to make a good pureblood marriage contract part. They will come around. Or not. It doesn't matter. Or to be more specific, it doesn't matter after we have graduated, but until then, it could be awkward."

"Awkward and disinheriting." Said Daphne with a moue "I really don't want to be disinherited. I really like my money!"

"As do I!" Pansy nodded.

BAH! Purebloods! "Deal."


	45. The Unbreakable Vow

**Short chapter but it won't be the only one today, be patient!**

It was my last detention with Professor Snape, although I knew it was not to be my last lesson with him. We had discussed how we would continue and had decided that we would resume the ruse that I was his Professor's assistant.

It was give and take all night. Push and pull. He would snake in to my mind and I would push him out.

He would find a new way in. We were now practicing while I was in my snake form. He was very intent on using this form. We were playing this game where I was hiding and he would find me by seeing where I was from my mind.

It was much harder because as a snake my eyelids never closed so it wasn't like I could just not see.

But in some ways, it was easier because my emotions were not as strong as a snake. Or… not as strong was not quite the right word. They were just as strong, just different. More primitive I guess.

I felt things as much, just not as many things. When I was afraid I was VERY afraid. When I was angry I was VERY angry. But I had no ability to worry about things like homework.

I could care about mating and a mate, but not about love or marriage.

I liked warm spots and scratching the skin off of my scales, but not designer clothes.

But it also made me predictable.

For instance, Professor Snape would know I would willing go into dark corners, but not cold corners. They made me slow.

It became a game for me to find a warm dark corner from which to strike out, so to speak, with my mind and attack his mind.

I desperately wanted to get a peek in to his mind. I did not want to invade his privacy, I NEEDED to.

As much as I needed to breathe.

As much as I needed to eat. To survive.

I coiled. Ready to strike.

And I… pushed.

That is the only way I can describe it.

I pushed my way into Professor Snape's mind and I saw… something…

A wall at first. It was like a a glowing wall. And then… I was through!

I felt more than saw… Mrs. Malfoy! And that horrible sister of hers.

It was the day I came back from France.

There were flames.

But magical flames.

And I heard words.

Or I felt them.

 _"Will you, Severus, watch over my son, Draco, as he attempts to fulfill the Dark Lord's wishes?" Mrs. Malfoy intoned._

 _"I will," said Professor Snape. It was awful. And dark._

 _A thin tongue of brilliant flame issued from the wand and wound its way around their hands like a red-hot wire._

 _"And will you, to the best of your ability, protect him from harm?" She sounded desperate and there were tears._

 _"I will," said Professor Snape. It sounded so… final._

 _A second tongue of flame shot from the wand and interlinked with the first, making a fine, glowing chain._

 _"And, should it prove necessary . . . if it seems Draco will fail . . ." whispered Mrs. Malfoy (Snape's hand twitched within hers, but he did not draw away), "will you carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perform?"_

And I saw… Headmaster Dumbledore? And….

And then I was shoved out.

I was forced in to my own body.

Panting and sweating and horrified.

Professor Snape and I stared in to one another's eyes. I curled around myself, wishing for my snake form again so I could comfort myself properly.

"You must never speak of what you saw." He all but hissed at me.

I nodded into my knees. I did not even want to speak of what I saw. I trusted this man. But… but there he was, making an unbreakable vow.

But it was to protect Draco.

But it was to do the Dark Lord's bidding…

But it was to protect Draco…

But it was because of something Lucius Malfoy had failed to do…

But it was against Headmaster Dumbledore…

But it was to protect Draco.

Was this what Draco was trying to protect me from? Of course it was. Because the Dark Lord had set him a task he expected him to die performing.

And Professor Snape and Mrs. Malfoy were determined not to let that happen.

"You must not allow Draco to become aware that you know of this." He continued sternly.

I nodded again.

He helped me to my feet, looking down at me compassionately.

His compassion unnerved me as much as anything else I had seen. I could handle his coldness. I was used to that. His compassion took this to a level I was not used to. It made this far more real than it had been before.

"I understand Professor." I straightened myself, determined to be strong.

"There will come a time when it will seem as if… as if everything and everyone you know has been a betrayal, I have no right to ask for your faith…" he hesitated.

"You have every right to ask for my faith!" I protested "You have listened! You have understood! I have been able to come to you when I had no one else! I will have faith Professor! I promise!"

He smiled, a genuine smile, the first I had ever seen. "You have grown too strong for now. I must discontinue our lessons for the time being. Do you understand?"

I did, he was worried about what else I might see.

What other secrets was my mentor hiding?

Did I really even want to know?

What I really wanted was my Dad.

Or my Mum.

Or my brothers.

Mostly? I wanted Draco.

I just said "Yes Professor, I understand."


	46. Going to Dumbledore for Help

The next Slug Club Club party was OK, suppose. Professor Slughorn had invited Gwenog Jones of the Holyhead Harpies to attend.

"You may be interested to know, Gwen, that Miss Weasley here is almost single handedly responsible for the brooms that were ridden in the World cup." Professor Slughorn told her.

And of course she immediately looked at Ginny, because of course she looked at the Quidditch player and not me, since I had not spoken two words two the party.

"No, no, the other Miss Weasley, she is one of their investors." He laughed.

Gwenog looked at me confused.

"Professor is exaggerating a bit. I mean, I am an investor, but hardly a top investor. I just started with their hazel groves and then switched to the brooms when offered the opportunity." I explained, somewhat lamely.

"Ah, you are far too modest, Miss Weasley!" he laughed. And hen insisted I tell her the story.

Having no choice in the matter without being rude I explained how I became involved with the Spudmore Bros.

Gwenog was impressed until she realized I had zero interest in the sport. Fortunately Ginny came to the rescue and started discussing the sport. She encouraged me to explain my theories on aerodynamics, and even McClaggen got involved and before it was done I found I had the attention of the entire party and was giving up far more Slytherin Quidditch secrets than I wanted to.

"So THAT explains how you were able to do so well!" said Professor Slughorn "Well done Miss Weasley!"

"Indeed," said Gwenog "I will have to discuss your theories with our equipment manager, you may have a real career in the industry should you want it."

"Oh no, that is really Ginny's field, she is a brilliant chaser and can even play seeker. If you are looking at anyone, it should be her." Ginny blushed at my praise.

That got the attention off of me, which was my intent, by the time the party was done Gwenog promised to have her manager come out to a game to watch Ginny play.

Ginny was a brilliant player, so that had been no real stretch to praise her.

As it turned out so was Ron. Hermione and Harry had argued over the tryouts. As it turned out Harry had pretended to put Felix Felicis, Liquid Luck, in to Ron's pumpkin juice just before their first game.

I was still a little put out by his winning that potion. I followed the directions in the book exactly and still failed to produce a potion as good as Harry's. I guess rote learning could not make up for raw talent. Which I had never suspected Harry of having. Maybe they were right, maybe Professor Snape really did grade him unfairly.

Draco had looked so unhappy when Harry won that little vial. I knew he wanted it for whatever his task was.

I wanted him to have it… and I did not want him to have it.

I was so conflicted. I did not want him to succeed, but I did not want him to die either.

I mostly did not want him to be involved in any of this.

All I could really think to do in the end was talk to Headmaster Dumbledore. I was a little intimidated. I had not really talked to him since my first year when he had moved me up a year. I knew that Ron had talked to him quite a bit. And that so did Harry and Hermione.

Perhaps Harry would help me. We had grown closer. Yes, Harry was my ticket in.

I waited for him after potions one day. Draco glared at me when he realized who I was waiting for. I hated hurting him, but I couldn't explain without betraying Professor Snape's trust.

"Ummm… Harry… can I talk to you… privately?" I asked.

"Sure, Alya!" he was always so nice to me. I knew he assumed it had something to do with our continuing to follow Draco. We had not given up on that. He had been busy with something else, but he could not share with me what it was and I had not asked.

We went out to the Quidditch pitch. It was the most private place.

"I need to speak to headmaster Dumbledore." I said abruptly.

He looked surprised. "Ok… so talk to him."

"It isn't that simple, I really don't know how to get an appointment." I mean duh, one doesn't just go up and talk to the headmaster!

"An… appointment?" he seemed genuinely confused.

"Well... yeah… I need one… right?" Now I was confused.

"I don't know, I never have one." He seemed sheepish.

I laughed "Well, not all of us are "The Chosen One" Harry Potter!"

He laughed as well "Ok, OK. I will take you."

And he did, I was surprised he had the password and everything!

When we got in to the Headmaster's office Harry explained while I waited that I wanted to see him and then just… left.

Professor Dumbledore looked at me kindly "Would you care for a biscuit, Miss Weasley?"

"Yes, please." Biscuits are my weakness. I took one but then had no idea where to start.

"May I assume this has something to do with Mr. Malfoy?"He asked gently.

"Oh no, this is about Draco." I said and then realized that was who he meant and then blushed. He just smiled at me.

I had no idea where to start so I just poured out everything. I started with coming back because of the newspaper articles and Draco being with Pansy but not really and Draco looking sick and the unbreakable vow and the Dark Lord and the task and my fears and how I wanted to help, but not knowing how.

"What would you be willing to do to help?" he asked watching me over his half moon glasses very seriously.

"That… is not an easy question to answer." I replied honestly.

"Very wisely said. Would you be willing to make it look as though you were betraying everyone and everything you hold dear?" He tented his finers. I noticed one hand was blackened.

"Would I actually be betraying them?" Would it even matter?

"No, but they would believe so." He sighed.

"Then yes, Headmaster, yes I would." I felt as though a weight had been lifted. I knew, or believed I did at the time what my limits were. How wrong I was.

"Ah, how strong young love. I will help you to assist him. Your young man has been given an impossible task. I will tell you what that task is, if you agree to be bound so that you may never speak of it." He waited my answer.

I agreed at once. He cast a wordless hex.

"Draco has been tasked with killing someone he expected to fail in killing." He looked down. "To be specific, he has been tasked with killing me."

I thought I was going to faint.


	47. Sectumsempra

After leaving Headmaster Dumbledore with his assurance that he would help me to help Draco all I had to do was be patient and await further instructions I felt better than I had in quite some time.

I was still young enough to believe that when I left things in the hands of an adult that everything would be alright. It would only be a few short months before I no longer believed any such thing.

In a few weeks I had my answer for just how Headmaster Dumbledore would help me. On my bed was a small box. When I opened it there was a small vial with a golden liquid inside. Liquid Luck.

Now I just had to figure out when the perfect time to use it was!

Professor Slughorn was having his Christmas party soon and I was obliged to go. I wanted to take Draco, but I was having a hard time pinning him down. In fact I had not been able to do so.

When he wanted to avoid someone he was really good at it. For me, all he had to do was surround himself with Crabbe and Goyle, he knew I refused to go near those two.

I ended up taking Theo, mostly because I knew it would keep Professor Slughorn from dragging me in to awkward conversations.

After the party had got under way I saw Professor Snape enter and drag Harry off. I really did feel badly for Harry. Professor Snape really did not like him. But I was happy for me. It meant I got to wish Professor Snape a Happy Christmas. As I was doing so Mr. Filch dragged Draco in!

"Professor, I caught this one sneaking about, claimed he was invited" I wanted to claim he was my guest, but as I had actually brought Theo that was impossible. Oh why couldn't I have gone stag?!

"Alright! I was gate crashing!"Draco snapped.

"I will see this one out." Professor Snape said.

Harry caught my eye, his meaning was clear, we would follow them.

I really wish we hadn't when we overheard Professor Snape going on about the Unbreakable Vow. Oh why couldn't that man shut up! I had to pretend not to know what he was talking about. I really hated lying to Harry.

This was going to be much harder than I thought to carry out, especially when Harry kept going on about it over the Christmas Holiday to anyone who would listen. Finally Professor Lupin shut him down for which I was incredibly grateful.

I did get to see Percy over the Christmas Holiday. But only briefly, and he made it clear he really did not want to see me, or any of us. He was only there for that awful Scrimgeour. I was so sad. I sent an owl to Draco, I didn't expect to get one back, I just felt so sad and alone. I told him how Percy snubbed Mum and made her cry and how Scrimgeour wanted Harry as their poster boy.

At least we had Bill and Fleur over to visit. I didn't mind Fleur the way the rest of the family did, she made Bill happy. And because of her he came home to stay. Now if only Charley would find a girl to make him come home.

I was surprised to get an owl from Draco telling me Percy was a foul git and that he heard Scrimgeour still called him Wimbly. It made me feel better.

But when we returned to school he still ignored me.

It was several more weeks before poor Katie Bell was able to return to school. When she came in to the Great Hall I saw Harry go up to her. Draco came in to the Hall at the same time and looked like he had seen a ghost and ran out. I followed him.

I hesitated only a moment before I followed him right in to the boys restroom. He was leaned over the sink in tears.

"Draco, please, don't! Please let me help!" I pleaded with him.

"You can't, no one can help me and I can't… it won't work… and if I don't do it soon he says he will kill me…" at that moment Harry entered with his wand drawn.

I don't know what Draco thought was happening, but he shoved me aside, like he thought Harry was about to attack me!

Harry would never attack me! That is how far gone Draco was at the time.

They started casting hexes and jinxes at one another until I heard Draco start "Cruc.." but he never got it out.

"Sectumsempra" Harry shouted.

I had never heard this spell, but Draco made no more sounds except a whimpering. And then I saw the blood.

I ran to him.

Oh Merlin, so much blood! He looked like someone had hacked apart his chest with a sword!

I pushed with my mind until I found Professor Snape.

He came running, I could feel him. Harry had dropped next to me, but I pushed him away.

I grabbed Draco's hand "Please… please Draco, please hang on. Please don't die." I was sobbing and I held his hand to my face.

I felt Professor Snape drop down next to me he started chanting on a sing song voice "Vulnera Sanentur" three times, running his wand over Draco's chest.

"He will need to be taken to Saint Mungo's Miss Weasley. You need to let go now." I nodded. He looked so pale.

"Potter, you stay right here." Harry nodded. I could barely stand to look at him. He almost killed Draco. I know Draco had almost used an unforgivable curse, OK? I KNOW that. But Harry almost KILLED him. I was not sure I could ever forgive that.

I was curled in a corner when they took Draco away. I could hear Professor Snape talking to Draco. I could hear him telling Harry that he knew Harry was a liar. Why wasn't Harry being arrested?

I rocked back and forth staring at the blood as it swirled away.

I almost lost him.

I felt someone lift me up. It was Pria.

"Come on, you can't stay here." She said, wrapping me in a blanket, the other Vipers were there in the doorway. How they had known I was in trouble, I don't know.

"No… I have to go…" I started towards the front doors. I had no idea how much time had passed. I had no idea that I had actually been sitting there curled up in that corner for almost an hour nearly catatonic before anyone realized that I had never left the restroom. That it was Draco himself who had told them from the hospital room that if I had seen the blood that I would not have been able to move.

"Where are you going?" Mora asked me, concerned.

"Saint Mungos. I have to get there. Even if I have to walk." I said flatly.

"You can't!" Frank protested.

"He's right." James said "You need to go to the infirmary and be seen."

I could hear Esme crying. I knew my friends were concerned. But I had to get to Draco.

"Then I will fly my broom there, but I am going." Nothing was stopping me.

"That won't be necessary." Grandmama Blacke said from the doorway.


	48. Surprise!

My Grandmother was a formidable woman, but so was my mother. And I was sitting in a hospital corridor listening to the two of them going at it while my father held my hand.

"How DARE you take my daughter from her school without my permission?" My mother was shouting.

"How dare YOU suggest I need YOUR permission to take her to a hospital when she is in a state of shock? She was found curled up in a boy's restroom where another child had been severely injured in a state of catatonia. Why has she not been in treatment for this?" My grandmother shouted right back.

"Oh so you brought her here for her own safety?" My mother sneered.

I tuned them out to look at my father "How is Draco?"

"He will recover dear. Are you ready to talk about what happened?" He asked, very concerned.

"I don't think Professor Dumbledore would like for me to do that here." I suspected this would stop any further questions. My family practically worshipped the man.

As it turned out, I was right.

"Ah, quite right, quite right." My father said.

Hearing my voice finally, my mother turned "Alya, my dearest, are you feeling better?"

"Yes Mummy." The problem wasn't really that my grandmother had brought me here. More that my _grandmother_ had brought me here, if you catch my meaning. Mum always felt that Grandmama overstepped her place. That Dad had placed Grandmama in charge of my financial and legal affairs had not really helped matters at all.

"Oh good darling. I am so sorry you witnessed such an awful scuffle between those boys." She hugged me.

Scuffle, as if this was no more serious than a tug of war over a beater bat.

"May… may I see Draco now?" I asked, feeling timid all of a sudden.

"Oh I don't think so, sweetheart, I am certain only family will be allowed in." Dad said patting my knee.

"They will let Alya in."Grandmama said firmly.

"You cannot bully a hospital Mother, policies exist for the safety and protection of the…." He trailed off as Grandmama pulled a scroll from her bag and walked to the nurse's station.

Within moments she returned. "You may go in now, Alya."

"I want to see that parchment Mother." My father said, holding out his hand.

Grandmama said "Of course dear." And handed him the scroll.

Dad's face turned red "This will never stand."

"Oh, but I am afraid it will, dear. We are well past the one year and one day you had to contest the filing in." She smiled brightly at him.

"I did not know about any filing." He gritted his teeth.

"Well now, whose fault is that? After all, it was posted very prominently in the Quibbler." She smiled at him again. "And after all you do work at the Ministry. One would be hard pressed to believe you were unaware about any filings regarding your own children."

"I do not read the Quibbler Mother." Daddy was getting angrier.

Grandmama gasped in mock outrage "Are you saying you are a snob? My own son?"

"This isn't over Mother." He stated very seriously.

"Of course not, darling. There is ever so much to prepare for." I didn't even care what they were talking about as long as it meant I got to see Draco.

A nurse was finally free and took me in to his room.

I was afraid at first that he would still be covered in blood but he was cleaned up.

"You must be very quiet and do not disturb him." She pulled out a chair for me next to his bed.

I sat down and gently took his hand nodding to her. "Thank you, nurse."

She smiled and left us alone.

I smoothed the hair from his face and he stirred. He woke up and looked up into my eyes.

"Hey" I whispered.

"You should not be here." He grimaced. "You really should stay away from me. Pansy…"

"I know about Pansy and Daphne Draco." I looked him in the eye and squeezed his hand.

He sighed. "How long?"

"A couple of months now." I straightened his covers.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he frowned.

"I know you have been going through a lot." I shrugged "I want to help you, not add to your problems."

"You can't help me. You need to stay away from me. For your own safety." He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Draco Malfoy, you listen to me right now." I said firmly making him look at me. "I…" I took a deep breath "I love you. Still. Always. I know I have only ever said that to you once before. But it is as true now as it was then. I am not going away. It doesn't matter whether you think we are together or not." I grabbed his hand again. "Whatever it takes to get us through this I am not going to abandon you. Just like my mother has not ever abandoned my father, just like your mother has not abandoned your father, I will never abandon you."

By the time I was done talking, we were both in tears.

"Alya… you don't understand what is at stake…" he said grasping my face in his hands.

"You are wrong, Draco." I placed my hands over his. "I understand that YOU are at stake. That is enough for me. When you get out of here you are going to tell me what I need to know to help you."

Draco turned his hands over and grabbed both of mine in his. "Alright" he said simply. "Alright."

I bent down to kiss him.

It had been so long since I had been able to do that. A year and a half to be exact. And the last time had been just a kiss on the head.

I sat by his bed until he fell asleep holding his hand.

I had no idea how any of this was going to work out. I had no idea whether or not either of us were even going to survive whatever crazy mess his father had managed to land us in.

But in the end, no matter what we were going to be together, that was the important part.

And my grandmother and Mr. Malfoy had seen to it. Because when we went to get ice cream at Fortescue's that day those two crafty whack jobs had signed a marriage contract for us! Draco and I were engaged!


	49. The Assignment

Draco was in the hospital for a week. We were finally back together emotionally, but physically still apart.

Harry was taking what he had done to Draco pretty hard. I can't say I was sorry about that. I wanted to feel bad for him. Merlin, I even did feel bad for him. Draco had been an enormous arse to Harry, Ron and Hermione. But he did not deserve whatever the hell that spell Harry had used was.

Draco got the hospital and Harry got… Ginny and detention? There was something really off about all of that. I did not hate Harry, but damned if he was my favorite person at the moment.

And I had to threaten to disown my entire family if they so much as tried to mess with my marriage contract. In two years I could make my own decision anyway and an attorney Dad spoke to said with Mr. Malfoy in prison and with me fighting any reversal it would take at least that long to reverse the decision anyway, they decided to leave it alone.

So Draco and I were officially engaged. I wasn't wearing a big fancy ring, and there was no press conference, but I didn't need any of that. I wasn't planning on marrying him any time soon anyway.

To be honest I wasn't sure why Mr. Malfoy had done it. It was well known that the Malfoys considered us blood traitors. I just did not have the kind of devious mind it took to see what was in it for the Malfoys.

My grandmother was easier to see. The Malfoys had social clout. It had to be tough to be a social pariah.

Even when Draco got back from the hospital he and I didn't exactly live in each other's shadows. He still had his friends and I still had mine. But we were together again.

I told him I was giving him one week recovery time and then he and I were having a conversation about what was really going on. He reluctantly agreed.

Which was how we wound up on the seventh floor near the painting of Barney the Barmy. Draco closed his eyes and I watched a door appear. He held out his hand to me.

Without hesitation I took his hand as he smiled in to my eyes. "Are… are you sure Alya? Once we go in here, there is no turning back."

"There has been no turning back for me for a long time, Draco. At least this way we are in it together." He nodded and swept me in to his arms for a kiss before opening the door.

The room was familiar to me. I had been in there many times before. It was of course the room where I always found any lost object. I ran my hand lovingly over the rug where I had found the first lost locket.

Draco watched me curiously "You have been here before." It was not a question.

I nodded and explained my long association with this room. He shook his head. "You really are something else, Alya." He said with admiration. I glowed under his praise.

"OK, come on." He led me by the hand over to a cabinet.

I recognized it! "How did you get it here?"

"How did I…? What?" Oh Merlin… me and my big mouth.

"You didn't bring this here from Knockturn Alley, did you?" I sighed.

He looked at me closely "What were YOU doing hanging out in Knockturn Alley? It is a dodgy place, Alya, not the sort of spot I want you…"

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I KNOW what kind of place it is! Harry got lost and I went to get him and we…" I shut up realizing that nothing I could say from this point would sound better.

"And you… what? Decided to do a little back alley shopping?" He was getting angry.

"No… not exactly… we ended up in Borgin and Burkes and we hid in a cabinet just like this and you and Mr. Malfoy had gone in and he wanted to sell some stuff and you were complaining that Harry was on the team and…" why was I babbling?

"Why didn't you turn him in?" he interrupted.

"Why didn't I… what?" I was confused.

"He was in there selling some really dark stuff, why didn't you turn him in?" Draco seemed genuinely confused "Or why didn't Potter?"

"Well… Harry didn't really understand enough yet and… you may have forgotten but I had sort of a…" I hesitated.

"Crush on my Dad? Yeah, I remember." He laughed.

"Not a crush, more like he was my hero." I slapped his arm.

"Whatever." He made kissy noises at me.

"Yeah… that isn't creepy at all." I shook my head. I swear he can just be such a dork at times. But it was so good to be laughing with him again. I grabbed him for another kiss and hug.

He just grinned. "I knew you couldn't keep your hands off of me She-Weasel!"

"Yeah, yeah, tell me about this cabinet, you weirdo!" I laughed.

He grew serious "The one you saw there… it is a twin to this one… except this one doesn't work." He opened it up. "And I have to make it work."

"Or get killed… yeah, I worked that out." I frowned.

"That is part of it." He looked down.

"Yeah… you also have to kill Dumbledore." He looked at me in shock.

"That wasn't what I meant by "part of it" how did you know that?!" he almost shouted.

"Never mind how I know. What do you mean that wasn't what you meant?!" What else could there be?

"There is a reason I was staying away from you, except it didn't matter in the end. The stakes have been raised." He looked positively miserable.

"What have the stakes been raised to, Draco? Your life is already being threatened. What could possibly be worse than that?" Wasn't it already bad enough that I was being threatened with losing him?

"They aren't just threatening ME Alya. It is you. If I fail to fix this cabinet and let them in to Hogwarts they will torture you before they kill you in front of me. Worse. They are going to Imperius me and make ME torture you before they kill both of us." He could not meet my eyes.

OK, that was worse. I sat down. "Who is they?" I asked.

"What?" he looked at me confused.

"Who are we letting in to Hogwarts?" I clarified.

"WE are not letting anyone in to Hogwarts. This is MY mission. You are staying out of it." He clearly believed his word was final. That was so cute.

"I am already in it Draco. I told you that. Even if I wasn't being threatened. And I am. So, we fix it." I jerked my head towards to cabinet.

"I tried, it can't be done." He sighed in defeat.

I held up the golden liquid "You didn't have this before."

He frowned at the vial.

And then taking it from my hand a smile spread across his face.


	50. Fixing the Cabinet

One of Draco's biggest problems had been he was worried if he kept reading or checking out books about cabinet repair, specifically vanishing cabinets, he would give himself away. So research became my department while he did the physical and practical magic work.

I studied every book on vanishing cabinets in the library. With my ability to memorize everything I read in no time I was an encyclopedia of knowledge about vanishing cabinets.

Whether any of it would actually be useful in repairing the damned thing only Draco could tell me.

While I was studying Hermione and Ginny kept trying to convince me of Harry's sincere regret over his actions.

"Can't you just talk to him Alya?" Ginny pleaded with me. "He is really broken up."

"Look, Gin, I know Harry is sorry. And I know he is your boyfriend now. I get all of that. But he REALLY hurt Draco. MY fiancé." She cringed when I said that "You don't have to like it. I am so past the point of caring what any of you think about it. And I am not even really angry with Harry. If you think I don't know Draco has been an absolute shit to all of you, then you are very much mistaken. But I still love him. And Harry hurt him. And not the 'knocked him off his broom and put him in the infirmary' kind of hurt. That spell sectumsempra? Do you know what that means? Sectum means "cut" and Sempra means "always" he meant for Draco's wounds to bleed FOREVER! Until he DIED! Do you have any idea how awful that is? How that… I don't even have enough bad words. It is like all of the bad words for muggleborns mated with all of the bad words for muggle supporters and made a whole new class of bad words so bad even purebloods won't use them! That is how bad what he did is!"

Ginny and Hermione just stared at me with their mouths hanging open. "I… didn't know you were so angry with Harry…" Hermione started.

"It isn't about being angry. It is about being held accountable. If Draco did that to Harry, would any of you be sitting there telling someone that they should be forgiving Draco or would you be demanding he be put in jail?" They at least looked a little ashamed. "It is about the hypocrisy."

"You are right." I heard from behind me. It was Harry.

I nodded. "I am not angry with you Harry. Well… I am angry, but I don't hate you. Just don't expect things to go back the way they were any time soon."

He nodded. "Fair enough. I understand."

As I left I heard him sadly asking them to lay off of me.

I rarely left Draco's side these days. While he worked on the cabinet I did my homework in the Room of Hidden Things.

We talked when the work was purely physical. About our childhoods, about the future. We really got to know each other.

I told him about the Great Garden Gnome Rebellion of 1987.

He told me how it was his Dad who taught him how to play Quidditch and about how much fun they'd had before things got so serious at home.

I told him about building my tree house to get away from my brothers and Ginny who were always there.

He told me how he always wished he had brothers and sisters. Even just one. Which is how he and Pansy had got so close.

I told him about how I felt like a freak when I realized it wasn't normal to remember everything.

He told me how angry he had been when he knew it was his Dad and his Dad's friends who had wrecked the World Cup after all the fun they had when Draco was a little boy learning to play Quidditch.

"So… Draco… what happens if the Dark Lord takes over? I mean… does he just get rid of the muggleborns? Like send them back home or…?" I didn't know why I wanted to know this but it felt important, because… I didn't want to think he was going to kill them all or anything… Hermione didn't deserve to die just because her parents were muggles.

"I really don't know. I don't… I don't think he plans to kill them, but he sure doesn't want them learning magic with the rest of us. I know he doesn't want us to have to hide from muggles anymore. He has this dream world where we can live peacefully as the rulers of muggles and I don't know… maybe they will be some kind of servant class or something." He lay down on the rug next to me.

"Like… slaves or something?" I frowned.

"Maybe. He doesn't exactly share his plans with me. Let's concentrate on me and you right now." He reached out and took my hand.

"I know, I don't want you to die, either I…" I stopped when he leaned over me.

"No, Alya… let's concentrate on you and me _right now."_ I finally understood what he meant when his lips descended on mine. "I don't know what is going to happen when the Dark Lord takes over, or what will even happen when we finish fixing this cabinet. But I know I am here with you right now. And that is what is important."

He was right. I stopped all thoughts about whether or not we were old enough for this, was it right, were we ready. I slipped my arms around his middle. There may not be a "later" when we would be theoretically ready and I did not want to have regrets.

Not about this. Not with him.

It was awkward, and messy, and probably not good.

It was perfect.

With a grin Draco went back to working on the cabinet. Without a shred of shyness a curled up on the carpet (which I fully intended to steal) and watched him. His sleeves were rolled up and once in a while he would stop to smile down at me.

"OK" he said finally "Let's give this a try!"

He put a green apple in the cabinet and when he opened it there was a bite taken out of it! We danced around!

"OK, now we have to find out if living things can go through it so that no one dies." Wow… that is a really weird thing to say… I am now NOT wishing the death of Death Eaters?

Shouldn't I at least be wishing the death of his creepy Aunt? It seems like that should be a fair trade.

"Right… avis!" Draco conjured birds and caged them.

"Well… that should do it." The birds avis conjured brings them, it doesn't magically create them, they are actually birds, so if they survive so should any other living creature, even presumably something as awful as a Death Eater.

It took another two weeks of work before we were able to get living birds back and forth. The last one came with a message. It was a date and time. This was happening. 

"Alright" Draco said reading the note "When this happens… I need you to be nowhere near me…"

"WHAT?! How can you say that after everything we just…" he interrupted me.

"Because of everything we just did. What if…" He placed a hand on my belly making me blush "I want you safe. And I want you to keep the others safe."

I reluctantly agreed but I knew my contraceptive spell was spot on. I was not likely to have become pregnant.


	51. Traitor

June 30th 1997. That was the day so much would change for so many of us. I would learn just how far I had gone in my love for Draco. I would learn how far those I had admired would go for their own ends.

And I learned my strengths and weaknesses.

I wish I had learned one of those strengths was speed. It was not.

That was the day the school first came under attack by Death Eaters. And a werewolf. And not the reasonably tame one that Professor Lupin was, but a terrifying creature known as Greyback.

I was so glad I did not know that at the time. Just the thought still turns my bowels to water.

I stayed with Draco until it was time to go. I kissed him one last time. He told me he would see me soon… but we both knew anything could go wrong.

I placed my hand on his right arm and he flinched. I knew why he had refused to remove his shirt. I knew what he was hiding from me. I could not tell him it did not matter to me… it mattered… it just did not stop me from loving him.

"Draco… this… it does not define you. I need you to remember that for me." I said through my tears.

"Make sure the younger students are safe. Stay safe, stay hidden. I love you, don't ever forget that." He wiped my tears away with his thumbs and walked away.

I knew I did not have much time. I ran down stairs to the dungeons and told the Vipers we had to mobilize and get all of the younger students to the common room immediately.

My friends are amazing. They did not ask any questions, they just moved. Esme was a Prefect so she used her authority to gather everyone.

We were fortunate, there were no games that night, and the school year was almost over, getting the few stragglers was not a time consuming task.

We had everyone safe and accounted for very quickly. We learned from the portraits we had hidden just in the nick of time. The school was under attack.

Slytherin's may not be the bravest, we were certainly not going out there to fight off the attackers (especially since some were afraid it may be their own parents out there…) but we took care of our own.

As soon as I knew everyone was safe, as soon as I had done what Draco asked of me, I blatantly disobeyed him. I left the dungeons.

I knew the Vipers would sit on me if they had to, so I waited until they were busy comforting the terrified first years and I slipped out the door.

I ran. I had no idea where I was going, but after a few moments I could hear noises from the astronomy tower. I ran that way.

Knowing instinctively I should not be seen, or maybe it was just my cowardice, I changed to my snake form. Slithering up the last few steps I was in time to see Headmaster Dumbledore fall.

It could not be! And Professor Snape… he… he was the one who…. How could this be real? I was so sure that the Headmaster would have this in hand, that he had a master plan to save Draco and himself. This was a living nightmare! I curled in a corner and hid as a large group ran past me. Including Draco.

Moments later Harry followed them… how could Harry be here? And who were those people fighting downstairs?

I was surprisingly fast in my snake form, so I moved as fast as I could, but even so, I was being left behind. I changed and ran.

I ran outside where Harry was confronting them!

"NO!" I screamed "Harry! Don't!"

He didn't even turn so intent was he on attacking Professor Snape.

Draco shouted at me to run, but I couldn't, all I wanted to do was get to him.

His awful Aunt Bellatrix grinned at me just before she set fire to Hagrid's home and turned to smoke and fled. Professor Snape was leaning over Harry. I had just noticed he had disabled him.

"PROFESSOR!" I shouted.

He turned to look at me.

"I believe in you." I said simply. "I still trust you. Please…"

He nodded just before he grabbed Draco and fled.

I could not explain why I believed in him still. Maybe it was because of everything he had taught me, but I knew… or felt would be a better word… that there was more to this than I was seeing.

I ran to Harry "Are you injured?" I asked him, helping him to his feet.

He pushed me aside and ran. I knew he was not angry with me, he was just trying to get back to the castle where.

Oh Merlin… where we would find the Headmaster…

Maybe it was a ruse? I mean, this was Dumbledore, right? He would have had a backup plan.

"Check on Hagrid!" He shouted at me.

HAGRID!

He was alright, he had saved Fang when he saw I was with Harry. We both ran to the castle.

I tried to tell him what had happened, but he refused to believe me until he saw…

The Headmaster was on the ground. He was so still… it was clear he was gone. Harry was bent over him, sobbing. Ginny was wrapped around him.

Professor McGonagall approached me. This was it. They knew what I had done. I would be arrested now.

"Miss Weasley… you may want to go to the infirmary…" I looked over myself, I was uninjured.

I looked at her confused.

"It is your brother Miss Weasley.. William." Bill?! I started running.

Madame Pomphrey was applying some sort of green salve to his face. When he saw me he tried to smile. "A little gift from a werewolf."

Seeing the look on my face he tried to reassure me "I will be OK Alya, he wasn't transformed… I will be…ALYA!"

I could remember him screaming my name. But all I could think was "My fault… it is all my fault…"

I looked around at all of the death and destruction.

The Headmaster… Hagrid's home… Ron was lying in another bed. Also injured.

Harry… oh Merlin… Harry was injured.

All my fault. I helped fix that cabinet. I did this. I let them in.

I should have gone to the Headmaster and told him everything.

Why oh why did I think he knew everything? Why did I think that this was what he meant when he said that I would look like a traitor? I did not just look like a traitor! I WAS a traitor!

I betrayed my school, my family, my friends!

All I remember from then is blackness.


	52. Dumbledore's Funeral

The next several days were blackness and feeling trapped in my own mind. Mum and Dad wanted to take me home immediately, but the Ministry officials wouldn't let them. They wanted to question me.

Yeah, good luck with that.

As anyone who knew me could tell them that when I wouldn't talk, nothing could make me.

They kept dragging me in to rooms and questioning me. Who let them in to the school? Had Professor Snape threatened us? Used the imperius? When did I begin to suspect he was a traitor?

I never said a word. I never even looked at them. I just stared straight ahead. There was even some fear that my mind had been irreparably broken. There was talk of the Janus Thickey Ward.

I heard all of this in a very detached way. I just couldn't find anything to care about.

I wanted to be glad that no one suspected Draco, but they suspected Professor Snape. And he had actually killed Headmaster Dumbledore. I couldn't wrap my head around what he had done.

I couldn't even wrap my head around what I had done. What Draco had done. Forget the how, I knew that. It actually had not been as hard as one might imagine. The why was pretty clear too. Draco would die if we hadn't. I would too, but my in love teenage self could not get past Draco's death.

I guess it had been the same for him. He could have handled a lot of things, and he was at heart not particularly in your face brave. But the thought of having to torture and kill me had broken him. Or maybe when they had threatened his Mum. He was really close to his Mum. I know I would have lost my mind if my Mum was threatened with torture and murder. We fight and oh but my Merlin is she overbearing, but I know it comes from a good, if weird, place.

Then they brought in Percy. What a laugh. He sat down next to me and took my hand. I didn't resist but I didn't respond either.

"Alya… talk to me. I am worried." He started, he almost sounded like my older brother again. I thought back to the day when he helped me get home when the holiday had gone so badly.

I wanted to believe he was my brother again… but… "You made Mummy cry." They were the words I had spoken in almost a week. My voice was weak. I hated the sound of it. I didn't want to talk again.

He sighed. "I know, baby sister, I know. But they are wrong. You know all of this is wrong…"

I stood up and went to the window. It was night. I just wanted to look at our stars. I didn't want to talk any more. I didn't want to talk before Percy came in.

"Tell me what he did to you. Tell me what Professor Snape…" I started to walk out of the room. I wasn't going to listen any more. None of them had been there. None of them knew Professor Snape's mind… I didn't exactly, but I felt… something. Resignation and regret.

"You… you can't leave, Alya, the Minister says if you don't talk…" Percy started when the door slammed open. Mum and Dad and Grandmama were there. And another man I didn't recognize.

"I err…" Percy stammered.

"Babajide Akingbade, Supreme Mugwump and speaking for the student known as Alya Cedrella Elladora Alexia Weasley, on what grounds does the Minister plan to hold this young witch?" The tall dark skinned man with a heavy accent asked.

"As her brother…." Percy stood to his full height.

"You are NOT her guardian Percy Ignatius Weasley!" Grandmama glared up at Percy. "I am her financial guardian and executor of her legal affairs and her parents are her legal and physical guardians. And should she be in need of further assistance she has a fiancé! And you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to pull any such non sense! And just you try it again young man and I will turn you over my knee!"

"A fiancé forced upon her by your inep…" I have no idea what Percy was going to say, since he was chased from the room by Grandmama's wand on his backside.

"Are you alright, Alya?" Mum asked, nearly in tears.

I just nodded and looked at the stars again. Why couldn't they either arrest me and throw me in Azkaban or leave me alone. I idly wondered if Mr. Malfoy and I would be allowed to play chess together in prison.

"If you face any more questioning from the Ministry you are to direct them to me and send me an owl at once." The Supreme Mugwump said.

I nodded.

"Young lady, you will face your elders when they speak to you and acknowledge them." I was told forcefully by my grandmother.

When I turned around I could see how concerned my parents were. I wish I could find it in my heart to care.

I walked over to the very tall man and shook his hand. But even my excellent training in manners could not force me to speak again.

He seemed to understand and did not press me.

I noticed the Vipers were in the hall, but pretending they weren't. They had been sticking close to me.

"We really should take her home, Arthur…" Mum began as I made my way towards my friends.

"After the funeral, Molly." Mum wiped a tear and nodded.

"May we take Alya back to her room Mr. And Mrs. Weasley?" Esme asked politely.

"Yes dear, of course, and please see if you can get her to eat something." There was my Mum all over. Shove enough food in it and it will be all better.

"Yes Ma'am." James said taking my arm and leading me away.

"Sorry we couldn't keep them from sicking Percy on you, Alya." Frank smiled at me, "But watching your grandmother beat him with a wand was almost worth it."

They all laughed. I loved how they still kept acting like everything was normal. It made things almost feel normal. I still didn't eat much though. But they didn't push. They didn't make a fuss over me not talking either.

Although no one was talking much.

The next day was the funeral.

It was exactly as horrible as you would expect an icon of the wizarding community's funeral to be. And I felt like I had no right to be there.

Hagrid brought in Dumbledore's body. I almost smiled. The cloth was purpe and stars and gaudy. Just what I could imagine the Headmaster's funeral shroud to look like.

The official arseholes in charge said a bunch of non sense that I had a feeling Dumbledore would have hated. Anyone who ever listened to him give a beginning of the year speech never would have got up and said such nonsense.

I got up and wandered away listening to the merpeople singing. I could see the centaurs who fired the arrows in tribute.

I also watched the head official arsehole Minister Scrimgeour follow Harry. I followed after them just because I wanted to get away.

I also wanted to say… something to Harry, but until I could I knew I wouldn't say anything to anyone.

That awful man wanted Harry to give up secrets and talk about Dumbledore and then… something about a poster and a guy named Dan or Sam or something?

I could not talk to Harry, but I could fix this.

I stood there with my arms crossed and just stared at Scrimgeour from behind Harry. He could not so much as say hello to me without getting in to trouble, and I had perfected the art of making people uncomfortable by staring at them. Finally with a scowl the Minister walked away. Harry turned around and noticed me. I looked down and started to walk away.

"Hey… Alya… wait…" he called.

I stopped, but I didn't look at him.

"I'm sorry, I know you aren't really talking to anyone right now. I just wanted you to know… Draco, he never would have hurt Professor Dumbledore, he was putting down his wand. I don't… like him or anything… but I sort of feel bad for what he must have been going through…" I turned finally to look at Harry. Merlin did I look as uncomfortable as he did? Probably not, I didn't usually show expression.

"I… want you to know I told Ginny I couldn't see her anymore.' He continued.

I nodded, it made sense. He was a danger to everyone he was around.

"Would you keep an eye on her for me? Make sure she is OK?" What could I do except nod in agreement? I had helped murder his mentor.

"Thanks Alya, I am sorry you got dragged in to all of this." I couldn't believe he was apologizing to ME. I just stared at him. It wasn't until later I realized I had been crying the whole time.


	53. Under Suspcion

We returned home after that. Harry went to his Aunt and Uncle's but then would be coming to the Burrow. I assume to live, but I was really unclear on what would happen then. They were being really tight lipped about what would happen after that.

In fact they were being really tight lipped about everything. And coming from me that is saying a lot, considering I still had not said anything to anyone since I spoke a single sentence to Percy.

Fred and George tried very hard to get me to speak to them, to even acknowledge them. Finally they settled for just hugging me whenever I went past them. That was nice.

Then one night everyone just… left. Hermione had been here, and then was gone, and so were Ron and George and Fred.

Even weirder, Bill and Fleur had been here and left with everyone else. Mum was on pins and needles Ginny and I knew something was going on, but not what.

Finally after they had been gone about an hour Mum sent our owl out on an errand and told us what was going on. They were moving Harry and seven people were going to be taking polyjuice potion to pretend to be him. Including most of my family! I think she only told us because she needed us to be prepared for the worst.

The worst, like most of my family being slaughtered by Death Eaters!

It was horrible waiting. Every sound could be them. Or worse, not them. Finally Harry and Hagrid arrived. They looked bloody awful! They had clearly been attacked. Ginny ran to Harry, but hesitated because technically he was no longer her boyfriend. She just stood there awkwardly as he asked questions about who had arrived.

Soon, George appeared with Professor Lupin, but George! Oh my poor brother! He had been attacked, and they said his ear could never be grown back. And that… it had been Professor Snape.

And Professor Lupin had a wand to Harry's throat making him answer questions.

Soon the others started arriving. There had been casualties. Professor Moody, the real one, not the one who had been Barty Crouch Jr. of course, had been killed. And so had Hedwig.

If Professor Snape had been there… had Draco? And was he one of the injured ones? I wanted to ask, but the words froze in my throat. I still couldn't ask or speak.

Everyone else was OK. As OK as they could be anyway. They were certain someone had betrayed them. I went upstairs to get more ointment and clean clothing for George. When I came back, I was horrified by the conversation.

"I am just saying… we have wands at each other's throats…" Tonks was saying "When right here in the house you have a daughter who is dating one known Death Eater and making another one comfy cozy and writing him letters in Azkaban."

"Those letters have all been read, Tonks." Dad was saying "They were harmless, she got financial advice and let him know how his wife and son were doing. We have been careful to keep any Order business quiet around her." At least Dad sounded angry on my behalf.

"I don't think she would have done anything on purpose, Arthur! But she could have let something slip by mistake, you know how kids are." Tonks sounded like she was back pedaling now.

"There is no way Alya would have done that!" Harry stood up for me "I trust everyone here with my life, including Alya!"

I wish he hadn't said that. I had betrayed him. I got Professor Dumbledore killed and hurt him and Bill.

But my letters? They knew I had been writing Mr. Malfoy? And intercepting my letters? Oh of course they had.

And now… now they thought I had betrayed Harry to the Dark Lord. I dropped the clothing and jars I had been holding and clasped my hands over my mouth.

Mum looked up horrified "Oh, sweetheart, she didn't mean…"

I was no longer listening. I ran to the only place I had ever felt safe here. To my tree house. I threw myself on to my couch and sobbed. I felt every inch the traitor.

I could hear someone climbing up. I didn't even look up. I really didn't care who it was.

"Alya?" Harry said quietly "I know you would never…"

I looked at him sadly and pulled a book from my book bag. One of the ones on building vanishing cabinets. I handed it to him, hoping he would understand.

"You…. You helped Draco fix the cabinet?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Were… were you being threatened to do it? Was it Snape?" He looked confused.

I nodded, but then quickly shook my head.

"OK.. threatened… but not Snape?" I nodded again.

"Draco?" I shook my head no!

"Was it… was it Voldemort?" I nodded and sort of shrugged.

"Maybe? You thought he was threatening you?" Harry was pretty good at this.

I nodded miserably.

"Did you talk to Professor Dumbledore?" I nodded.

"Well then… he had to have known what you were doing. He planned it all this way you know." Harry looked sad

I was just confused.

"I may not know his plans, and I don't have a lot of proof but… did you see his hand?" I nodded. "Dark stuff. I can't tell you what… no, not because I don't trust you, it is Dumbledore's orders." I shrugged that it was OK "But… I think maybe it was killing him."

I looked hopeful!

"It doesn't mean Snape isn't a killer you know, I watched Dumbledore plead with him and Snape just… killed him." I nodded miserably, I had seen that too.

"This not talking… is it a choice?" I shrugged and shook my head no.

"It was at first?" I nodded. "And now?" I shook my head no again.

Harry hugged me. Hugged me! "It will be OK, Alya, when Snape attacked me.. I thought maybe he was actually going to kill me… but you talked to him. Told him you still believed in him and he just… left. And you stayed. If you wanted to betray any of us you would have done it then."

I hugged Harry back. It felt so good to have someone believe in me even when I didn't believe in myself.

We went back inside where everyone started assuring me that they trusted me. That was nice, but the one person who had no reason to believe in me did anyway. That was even better.

I just wish I could see Draco. I missed him so much.


	54. The Wedding Guest

I was determined to be happy for this wedding. I would smile and nod. And even bloody dance with Aunt Muriel if need be! Mostly it would all be family, and they all thought I had been… affected… by the things that had happened at Hogwarts.

I had been, just not in the way they thought. Part of me knows that not speaking is still a choice. That I could if I really wanted to. But I just don't really want to.

Even in my misery I could appreciate the beauty of the wedding. Bill was so happy and Fleur was so beautiful. Both took time to come see me. Fleur hugged me and told me we both seemed to have a fondness for rakes. She beamed at Bill when she said this, and there was no judgment from her. I smiled and hugged her back.

Harry was looking sad standing by a door when I saw him. I knew something about what he was feeling. He felt like a danger to everyone and so did I. I went over and slipped an arm around his waist leaning against him. He squeezed me back.

"How are you little snake?" he asked trying to smile.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I know" he said "but…"

"Missing Draco?" I heard Ginny ask from behind us.

I did not turn around to look at her, I just nodded. "Well, I would let you keep borrowing mine but we brought in a surprise for you."

I turned around. Standing behind her were the Vipers! All of them! Plus some boy I didn't recognize.

"This is our cousin Randal" James explained introducing the boy. He did look rather like James and Frank. Dark hair and dark eyes. He also had their very kind smile. I was sorry they hadn't come alone, but at least he was their family. This should be a day for family.

I shook Randal's hand. "Alya is not able to speak right now." Esme explained "she has been… upset since… well, since the end of the year."

Randal looked very understanding and shook my hand "I hope you feel better soon Alya."

I could hear Harry behind me "Share 'yours'?" Ginny laughed and dragged him to the dance floor.

They Vipers were amazing. With them I didn't have to fend off weird questions from others, and Pria flirted shamelessly with George. It felt normal.

"Hey!" Frank smiled, "let's go to the tree house." he opened his robe showing a smuggled bottle of firewhiskey.

We all sneaked away and climbed the ladder in to my little sanctuary. "This is amazing" Randal said looking around. "Did you do this all yourself?"

I smiled and nodded, his praise... I can't say it didn't affect me. It gave me a warm feeling in the pit of my tummy.

I squashed that immediately. I have a fiancé, whom I love very much.

We shared around the firewhiskey, none of us over doing it, the Vipers like to push the boundaries, but mostly we were a pretty good group.

"Come dance with me." Frank dragged Esme out of the tree house.

"Hermione wants me to show Fleur some of my cosmetics for her honeymoon." Mora got up to join them.

"Oh Merlin! And I have to show her my scents! James, take me to find the bride, I have had a bit too much to drink I need you to help me down the tree." We all laughed at Pria being a light weight.

I was shocked suddenly to find myself alone with this new guy. I went to the window. Next to it I had a star map and a monoscope so that I could look at the stars.

Randal looked at this. "You seem to have a fondness for stars." He commented.

I nodded running my hand over the Draco constellation.

"I was shocked when he came up from behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I turned around to slap the taste from his mouth when I was shocked to see pale blonde hair, grey eyes and a familiar smirk looking down at me.

"DRACO!" I croaked out just before his lips captured mine.

After he finished thoroughly kissing me he stopped to wipe the tears from my face. "I am sorry, love, I didn't think I would be exactly welcome…"

"You are by me." I hated how awful my voice sounded "How? Why?"

"Your friends owled me to tell me what you were going through. That you hadn't spoken to anyone in weeks." He looked so concerned.

I just hugged him "I am better now. I was so worried.

"Good, I would hate to think a very execellent charming spell by your friend Mora went entirely to waste!" he laughed hugging me again. Mora, that girl was getting a very nice Christmas present from me. They all were. I owed them so much.

"I can't stay long, or I will be missed." he tucked me under his chin. I never wanted him to leave. "I will see you at school. It will be… different, but we will be together."

"They…" I croaked and tried again "They won't let me go back."

"They won't have a choice. It is mandatory for all purebloods to attend. Or will be before school starts. Before I go…" he pulled out a packet from inside his robes "I need you to get this to your father and tell him…"

He stopped as we heard screams from the direction of the wedding.

We ran to find everything in chaos! He pulled his hood over his face. The place was under attack. "Come on" he grabbed me "we need to get out of here!"

He side apparated me to some place in Knockturn Alley.

"I am sorry, it was the first place I could think of." I nodded. I didn't care. I was with him but…

"Draco… my family! The Vipers!" We had to get back!

"They are not after them, but they will kill anyone who gets in their way. You are NOT going back there." I knew his word on this was final.

He walked me in to Diagon Alley "We will get you a room at the Leaky Cauldron and send an owl to your parents.

As soon as we entered the inn I saw a familiar face, one completely out of place here. "Camille…?" I called out.

She turned around and ran to hug me. "Alya. Oh, and zis ees your boyfriend, yes? Draco?" she shook his hand. "I am zo glad you are reunited. Do you know she refused to speak to anyone except for me for three weeks when she went to Beauxbatons?"

I hugged her again "You were the only one worth speaking to."

Draco looked at us confused, "You will have to tell me the story sometime about how you went from deadly enemies to friends."

"Eet ees easy. I apologized." Camille said as if it were the most simple thing in the world.

"Girls." Draco rolled his eyes.

"But why are you here?" I was still confused.

"Zee wand maker 'ere, he has gone missing, yes?" I nodded "My father ees a wandmaker. We have come to set up shop, and I will be his apprentice."

So that explained why she was out of school. In Beauxbatons the students had to choice of a final year of school or an apprenticeship. "Iam glad to see you, but things are…" Draco shushed me.

Camille understood at once. "Come to my room." Once we were upstairs, I listened while Draco explained everything that happened.

"You vill stay with me, just like old times, yes? Use my owl and send word to your parents."

Draco kissed me again "I have to go. Do not leave the Leaky Cauldron. In fact do not leave this room until your parents collect you." I did not want to let him go, but I knew I would see him soon.

"Get better, and start talking again, love. It will be alright, I promise. And my father sends his best." He wrinkled his nose at this "He is… home now."

How could that be? He had a life sentence?! But I knew this was not the time, something in Draco's voice… it was fear. And a warning… "Send my love to your parents." I knew he would tell me when he could.

Camille and I had our lunch. Before we had even had a chance to have the dishes cleared away my father burst through the doors!

"Dad!" I was so happy to see him! "Is everyone…?"

He put a finger over my lips, spent a few moments speaking to Camille politely and then took me outside to apparate home.

I could not believe the destruction. The burrow was still standing (*) but there was so much else burned. The gardens. The… NO! I started running breaking free of my father's grasp.

My tree house. The willow. Gone. All gone. It was just a burned smoldering husk. I fell to my knees weeping.

Dad came up behind me. "I am so sorry, Alya. I know how hard you worked on this."

"Is… is everyone OK?" I choked out.

"No one was killed, there are a few injuries." I nodded and picked myself up off of the ground.

"The Vipers?" I needed to know.

"Who…? Oh your friends, yes they are all fine, we sent them away the moment we got Kingsley's warning." He wrapped an arm around me "I am glad you are speaking to me."

"Draco… he was here. He is OK." I said simply.

"That… that is good." I was pretty sure he didn't mean it, but it was nice of him to say.

"He also said that Mr. Malfoy is home…" I looked up at him confused.

"There was another mass breakout at Azkaban. The dementors are no longer under Ministry control." He sighed.

"Or maybe they are." I replied cynically.

"Or… maybe they are." He agreed.

"Dad… before we go inside." I stopped him. "Draco gave me this and said to make sure it gets to you." I pulled the packet from my robes.

Dad looked through it. "Draco… gave you this? Draco MALFOY?"

I nodded, hating the surprise in his voice, "Yes, but he did not tell me what he wanted you to do with it."

"The Order will know what to do with it. This is… well… this is something." He seemed perplexed by what I had handed him.

I spent the day being fussed over by Mum. It was nice.

 **(*)it was only destroyed in the movie. In the books it was fine. Fine-ish.**


	55. Hogwarts Under Snape

Getting prepared for school this year was not the joy it had once been. This year there was no Harry and Hermione making fun of Ron. There was no Ron.

Fred and George had left long ago. It was just Ginny and me, and Mum didn't even want us to go back. Draco had been correct. Educational Decree Number 29 declared that all pureblood students in the United Kingdom who were not already enrolled in other schools must attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No exceptions would be made for any student not confined to a hospital bed. And even so they must be enrolled in Hogwarts and if their condition improved such that Hogwarts infirmary was deemed sufficient to their needs they would immediately be transferred.

This would be enforced by means of the Trace.

I wasn't concerned for myself, not really. I would have the Vipers and Draco. Even Pansy wasn't quite the she-devil she used to be.

I was concerned about Ginny. She assured me she had plenty of friends, Neville and Luna and others that she was weirdly mysterious about. Whatever, pfft, Gryffindors. But Neville Longbottom did not exactly inspire confidence in me.

Mum and dad were clearly more concerned about me. They kept giving me side looks and Mum kept hugging me out of nowhere and wiping at her eyes.

Finally I had enough! I mean, I love my Mum, but this togetherness was starting to wear me down!

"Mum! Get off of me! Tell me what is going on! Why are you so worried? I am not some Gryffindork, sorry Ginny, I am SLYTHERIN! If anyone is going to weather Professor Snape as Headmaster just fine, it is ME!"

Dad sighed and looked at Mum. "We need to tell her Molly."

"No, absolutely not, she is just a girl!" Mum put her hands on her hips.

"Fine, then I will just wait until I get to school and ask Professor Snape, I bet he knows something, and he LIKES me! He will tell me what is going on!" I hated to shout at them, mostly because it hurt my throat, but, while I would never admit it, they were starting to scare me.

"Alright" Mum sat down "But only as much as she needs to know, Arthur!"

Dad nodded and sat down to take my hand "The reason we sent you to Beauxbatons, the reason we are afraid to have you go anywhere near a Death Eater controlled school… that same year You know Who was looking for a prophecy. He had learned about your ability to memorize everything you read and nearly everything you hear. He had intended to kidnap you. He wanted to use you to memorize the prophecy… and goodness knows what else. His control in France and Spain was very limited at the time. Madame Maxine is… quite competent…"

"More competent than Professor Dumbldore?!" I could not believe what I was hearing!

"In this regard… perhaps, we had some fear that Draco may… influence you to cooperate." I gasped in outrage.

"Draco has done everything in his power to keep me OUT of danger!" I shouted.

"We believe you now." Wow, what had been in the packet I handed him? Why didn't I think to take a peek? Not that I had much of a chance..

"And we are afraid he may try again…" Mum said wiping her eyes.

"Professor Snape won't let him." I said confidently.

"He may not… you may… he killed Dumbledore Alya." My Dad sighed.

"He didn't want to!" I protested.

"Exactly my point, Severus… is easily influenced…" Dad hesitated.

"I am safe with him Dad, don't worry. I still believe in him." I knew I was right even if I couldn't explain how I knew.

"That is what we are concerned about Alya… you trust others so easily, you see the good in others when there may not be any." Mum said hugging me.

"It is not like I am having the Dark Lord around for tea!" I tried joking.

"And that is the other thing that makes some… question… only his supporters call him "The Dark Lord" Alya, it sounds bad." Dad furrowed his eyebrows.

"Dad, everyone in Slytherin calls him that, and we don't follow him! It is just… habit I guess." I didn't think of him as the Lord of anything, it meant no more to me than saying "He Who Must Not Be Named".

Dad sighed and nodded. The conversation was over. But, hey, at least my parents didn't seem to hate Draco now! Progress! I would take it.

The next day we were off to Hogwarts. This time Draco insisted I sit with him. I understood… I didn't want to be away from him either, but at least we were in the Prefect car without Crabbe and Goyle. After saying hello, and good bye for now to the Vipers, with Draco holding my arm the entire time we made our way to the semi-private car.

No one complained that I was there. After all, most brought their boyfriends and girlfriends, even Pansy had Daphne with her.

The train was stopped again about halfway to Hogwarts. After the last time, I was terrified, but Draco pulled me to him and told me to stay down and stay quiet.

Three Death Eaters entered the train. Draco sneered at them "Do you really think Harry Potter would be hiding in here with me?"

One looked at him with contempt I had never seen one of the Dar… I mean You Know Who's followers give a Malfoy. "With the state of your family, we can't be too careful. Isn't that Weasley's sister?" he sneered at me.

"Do you see red hair?" Draco snorted, making the other Slytherin's in the car laugh. They finally left.

When we got to school it was… different. Half of the place seemed empty without any muggleborns and very few half bloods.

Professor Snape sat in Dumbledore's chair. There were these two creepy people who I was pretty sure had been there the night Dumbledore died. We were told they were the new Muggle History Professor and the new DADA Professor. I shuddered.

After the sorting I was summoned to the Headmaster's office. I wasn't surprised, I had been expecting this.

"Professor Snape!" I said, letting my pleasure at seeing him show "I have been so worried about you."

He sighed and sat down "I… thank you for your concern Miss Weasley. I assume you understand by now most do not share your sentiments?"

I looked at the ground "Yes Professor… I know."

"This year is going to be difficult for all of us. I may assume your family is starting to doubt your loyalty?" I looked at him quickly, was he using legilimens? "No Miss Weasley, I am not using any powers against you. Given your associations it is to be expected."

I nodded "Yes Professor, I think… I think they want to believe me… but.." I hesitated.

"But they have not seen into your mind the way you and I have seen in to each other's?"

"EXACTLY! I could not find the right words to tell them why I believed in you…" he interrupted me.

"I want you to stop trying. We all have our roles to play. As long as you are here, I expect you to follow the role you agreed with Professor Dumbledore you would take on." He said with finality.

I looked at the portrait of Dumbeldore who was looking down at me kindly. "I yes Professor… both of you… I will do what it takes to get Draco out of this alive and happy."

Professor Dumbledore's portrait smiled at me "I would like you to see yourself out alive and happy as well Miss Weasley!"

"That is the plan, Professor." I looked up at Professor Snape "What do you need me to do?"

"The same as you have been, be a help mate to Draco, play the part of the dutiful pureblood Slytherin and get good grades. Keep your head down. Give the new Professors no reason to notice you." He said very seriously.

"Yes Professor, I can do that." I smiled at him. I really was happy to see him.

As I was leaving he called to me "Miss Weasley… you said that you still trusted me. Even in a very dark hour. Even when you had no reason to. I… Thank you."

I did something I had only done once before, I ran back and hugged him quickly.

"We will get out of this Professor! I just know we will. Sanity and reason, they will prevail!" I genuinely believed that.

"Yes Miss Weasley" he replied, pushing me back gently "just make sure the price you pay is worth it."

As I was leaving I heard him say "She reminds me of you more and more Dumbledore. I imagine you were much like that when you were younger"

I wondered what made him say that.


	56. A Very Different Hogwarts

Being back at Hogwarts was very different from the way it had been in the past.

Nothing was obviously different, at first. Classes were scheduled, decisions made about when and how to study. NEWT's were coming up next years, and some of us needed to ace them to get our parents off of our backs.

Draco was different. Older, more mature. Not nearly as cocky and arrogant as he had been in the previous years. A lot of people had started avoiding him because Death Eater father and disgraced Death Eater himself, for those who knew, did not make him a popular fellow, but nothing so horrid that it made me question my morals.

At first anyway.

Muggle Studies was now mandatory. I thought that would be OK, until I actually attended my first class.

Professor Carrow, now deputy headmistress instead of Professor McGonagall had a very different idea about what Muggles were like.

"So, as you can see from this picture" she was displaying a still photograph of a baby, muggle I suppose, who had been born with a tail "Muggles are no better than animals. They have become so defiled that children born with tails are becoming more and more common."

Many of the students shuddered and looked at the photograph in horror. Of course everyone here was at least halfblood. Many did not have much contact with Muggles and had no way of telling falsehoods from truth.

Our homework usually consisted of studying horrifying events in history such as the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials.

The younger students did not know any better. To hear them spout the trash that was being taught made my skin crawl.

"I hear" one was saying "that Muggles leave their children out doors in the cold until they learn to stop crying or die!"

Every day we were reminded that we were the superior race. Every day we were inundated with pamphlets like "Muggles and the Dangers They Present" with more garbage like Professor Carrow was spouting.

Draco told me to keep my head down and stay safe. To go to class and mind my attitude. That the Carrows were dangerous. As if I did not know that, I knew they were in the tower when Professor Dumbledore was killed. I knew Professor Amycus Carrow had dueled with Ginny and tried to kill her.

Still, to listen to little first years who did not know any better being taught this awful hate filled non sense… if Draco was raised like this I was seriously questioning my loyalty to his father. I was questioning his father's sanity! But I knew better than to say that out loud.

We marched now in neat rows instead of walking normally. Any milling about was met with detention… at first.

Things slowly started getting worse. By October there were rumors of students being tortured with the cruciatus in detention.

By November this was no longer just a rumor.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was much MUCH worse. There was no longer any "defense" it was all dark arts. We were learning spells so horrible that I had nightmares for days after a particularly bad class.

The only "defense" we were taught was how to take a cruciatus curse. This was supposed to be "educational" but it really seemed more about fun for Professor Amycus Carrow who taught the class.

Since I was signed up for it I had to get the Headmaster's approval to quit. I was sent to his office reluctantly by Professor Slughorn who was the new head of Slytherin.

I wasn't worried about seeing him. I was pretty happy about it, because I had not seen him since the school year started. I was worried about him.

And when I got in his office it looked like I had been right to be. He looked tired and ill. As soon as I came in I set about making tea.

"You are not my servant Miss Weasley." He said wearily.

"No… but I would like to think if I was not a student and you were not headmaster that I would be your friend, so please allow me this." I handed him a cup of tea.

He took it and sipped "So I understand you wish to drop one of your classes."

"Yes sir, I do not wish to take Defense Against the Dark Arts any longer... I am sure my parents would agree." Wow, I almost felt sleazy I had never pulled the "wait until my father hears about this" bit.

"No doubt they would agree. But they do not have to continue to live and study here, do they?" he took another sip, contemplating me.

"No… no, Professor they don't but…" I had no idea where he was going with this.

"And your parents did not have to live in a school that has been taken over by the Dark Lord, now have they?" He continued looking at me with an even stare.

"No…" of course not. What?

"Then one might assume it is safe to say that your parents do not know what is best for you under these circumstances." The steam from his tea cup made his skin look even more sallow I noticed.

"No, Professor. They probably would try to pull me out of here if they knew what it was like." I frowned, thinking this over.

He sat his cup down and sighed "And they would be imprisoned for doing so, and you would be returned here anyway."

I put my head in my hands "You are saying I have to keep taking this class, no matter how horrible and terrifying it is." It was not a question.

"I am saying you have to be smart. Those two were sent here by the Dark Lord with a purpose. He has not shared his plans with me, nor have I asked." I noticed one of the older Slytherin portraits watching us carefully. Spies then.

"Yes Professor, I am just… I am afraid I am not very good at it and that I will disappoint…" I have no idea how I managed to choke out this last bit "The Dark Lord with my failure."

"We all have a part to play in the bright new future for wizard kind, Miss Weasley. You do not have to be the best in the ancient noble arts" yes this was actually what we were being taught to call the dark arts "but you will be expected to complete your training in any event. Perhaps you should draw on your previous training and experience to get you through your courses?"

I had no idea what he meant at first until he leveled me with the same stare he used when starting our lessons.

Of course, occlumency can help protect against the cruciatus!

Of course there was only one way to test that theory…

"Yes Professor, I will… do my best." I was not really excited to be cursed but what choice was there? I would either do this and try the protection of occlumency, or I would be cursed without the benefit…

Now I just had to find someone who would be willing to curse me, but maybe not hate me enough to kill me with it.

There was only one person I could turn to.

I went to hunt down Pansy Parkinson.


	57. Stopping the Carrows

"It is not enough for you to resist!" Pansy was growling this right in my face, "You have to at the same time pretend that this is excruciating. Scream, flail about, carry on! Are you trying to get us caught?"

I knew she was right, but it was hard enough to concentrate on blocking out the pain without putting on a show at the same time.

"Again." She snarled and hit me with the curse. It was getting better, we had been practicing for three weeks. At first I would leave exhausted and vomiting. I could not see any improvement. But slowly I could start dulling the pain. By now it hurt still, but it was not enough to torture me. Like a mild burn or parchment cut that stings like a son of a bitch, but you weren't going to tell your deepest secrets to make it stop.

And now she had upped the training. We were down in our special basements. The other Vipers were there. At first they could barely stand to stay because the torture I was facing was too much to bear. Esme had cried and Pria had nearly fainted. Mora ran from the room in tears. Frank and James watched stoically, but with very pale face.

At this point, which was perhaps worse, they all seemed almost bored by the process. They were no longer appalled. They were actually becoming used to the sight of me being tortured. This must be how Death Eaters become so hardened. What was I doing to my friends?!

Sweet little Mora who could not even stay in the same room the first week now looked at me casually and suggested "Perhaps we should learn to silently cast imperius so that we can force her to scream carry on."

This caused me to break concentration and I suddenly started screaming for real as the pain washed over me.

"Better." Pansy said triumphantly. "Again."

The thought of my friends being forced to cast unforgivable curses spurred me on. By the end of the lesson I was able to scream convincingly.

"We will pick up from here tomorrow." Pansy tossed over her shoulder as she left.

"That is one cold, cold witch." James said, and he looked almost admiring. Ewwww! He didn't like her did he?

We went to "mandatory library study time". That seemed innocent enough at first, much like everything else.

And, much like everything else, it was not.

We were forced to sit and listen to broadcasts of the Carrows telling us about the Muggle Menace. About how wonderful and perfect we all are and how very lucky to be part of the superior race.

The new required reading material we were required to read included "social sciences" such as "If there are 40 wizards who are sorted into Hogwarts houses and three are mudbloods, who get sorted into Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, which house remains the most pure?"

I decided something had to be done. I could not take the brutality any longer. When I saw the Carrows forcing students to practice the cruciatus on first years who had earned detention, I lost it.

I knew I could not rush in, wand out throwing hexes and jinxes everywhere, Not only would I get myself killed, but I would injure the innocent first years. I had to be smart, just like Professor Snape said.

I started with practicing the "obliviated" spell. I used small animals to test it on. When I could successfully get a mouse to forget where the cheese was I began obliviating a cat to forget to eat a mouse. When I was able consistently get results with animals, I knew I was ready to move on to the false memory spell. I wanted the first in place because if implanting memories did not work, I needed to erase them completely. So I was ready. Or as ready as I would ever be, and I decided to put my plan in to action.

I wanted to wear a mask and hide my face, but I had to be careful in what I chose. It could not be snake like or reptilian, because of my nickname. It could not look like a small rodent because of the idiots who still called Draco "Ferret".

I finally decided on a peacock mask. I remembered Hagrid teaching is that some birds, such as peacocks and roosters, can be deadly to snakes, and I was symbolically "killing" my namesake.

I knew better than to tell Draco what I was up to. He would have absolutely forbidden me to put myself at risk. I knew how much he worried, but I could no longer stand back and watch the torment of students. Especially friends and family!

Alecto really had it out for Ginny. Perhaps to make up for Ginny casting curses at her the night Dumbledore was killed, or maybe she was just a cold bitch, but she had singled Ginny out for "special" attention. She humiliated and tortured her at every turn.

If I did not do something soon, Ginny would be dead or mad. But I did not dare start out with her in case it did not work. I had to wait for other detention victims.

I did not have to wait long.

I hid inside the cabinet in my snake form, but I knew it was big enough to hold me full sized. I had tested it out when I hid my mask there.

When Amycus Carrow brought in a pair of students to "practice" on one another, I froze. It was a fourth year Ravenclaw who looked sick and terrified.

But his practice partner looked even worse. He was one of the tiniest Hufflepuff first years I had ever seen. He looked terrified and ready to run, but to afraid to do it.

As soon as Carrow came in, my snake brain wanted to attack, to kill, maim! I held it back by sheer willpower. It was damned hard because I did not exactly WANT to hold it in!

I knew what I had to do. And I knew it was going to be miserable, but there was no hope for it. I could not create memories from nothing. I had to wait until the Ravenclaw boy attacked the Hufflepuff and then strike hard and fast.

The boy held up a shaking hand, he was instructed by Carrow exactly how to repeat the curse. As soon as he had done so, two things happened simultaneously. The Hufflepuff boy fell to the ground screaming and I burst through the cabinet in my human form casting petrificus totalus as I did so.

It was satisfying watching that bastard hit the ground. I almost understood why Gryffindors were so keen to fight!

Walking over to his prone form I had to resist the urge to kick him in the ribs. I pointed my wand at him and chanted "alterare memoriae". Leaning down I murmured "You watched the Ravenclaw…" I looked up at the boy "What is your name?" I knew I could speak freely, the mask magically disguised my voice as well.

"Sh…Shane…." He stammered.

"You watched the Ravenclaw Shane torture…." I looked to the other boy who quickly answered "You watched him torture Evan until you were bored and went back to your rooms, suddenly exhausted. You did not see anyone in a peacock mask." I did not want him having any more "fun" tonight.

He slowly stood, sneered at the two boys and left.

"Th… thank you." little Evan said looking at me gratefully.

"Yes, I… I didn't want to hurt you!" Shane looked close to tears as he looked at Evan.

"I know... he made you do it. You really saved us!" It felt good to be a hero for a change.


	58. The Peacock and the Army

I kept protecting first years and word of what I was doing spread. No one knew who I was, but everyone soon knew that there was a new savior around.

Savior! Me! It was as unreal as becoming a Quidditch expert had been. It felt good to be striking back. I didn't even care that rumors were it was soma Gryffindor boy. I had not realized the mask would disguise my voice that much.

Well, I cared a little. More that they thought it was a boy than a Gryffindor. I am not some little pureblood princess! I am Slytherin's Queen. I do NOT need rescuing by some boy!

I finally got the chance to save Ginny from that bitch Alecto. I knew she would be taken to the detention room for "special detention" meaning that Carrow would torture Ginny personally. I heard that her brother Amycus would also be there… that could not be a good sign…

I waited curled up hanging from one of the desk legs. The Carrows had taken to searching for The Peacock. They had heard that I was saving students, but none had any idea how. They probably also suspected their memories were being tampered with, but funny thing… none of the other Professor's including the Headmaster could find anything. Could I be that good?

No, they were just probably refusing to help the sleazy pair.

I heard them drag Ginny in to the room, angry and defiant. They cast about for intruders, but my mind was too primitive for them to sense.

"We'll see just how snarky you want to be when my brother is finished with you." Alecto hissed as she struck Ginny with a curse.

I had to time this carefully. There were two of them Which was the bigger threat? Think… think! My primitive mind decided that the one attacking was the threat and came full form shouting "Petrificus totalis!" striking Alecto in the back.

Amycus was startled, he was right in the middle of undoing his robes, but he was quick. I had not meant for it to happen, but I soon found myself in the middle of a duel with a full grown and very dangerous Death Eater!

We cast curses and jinxes back and forth. I was behind a desk when I heard him start to shout "reducto!" Yea… that was going to hurt.

I cast the only jinx I could think of at the time "ET ERUCA SUPERCILII!" and one of his filthy eyebrows crawled in to his eye and blinded him for a moment allowing me to put a body bind on him.

Ginny was tying up Alecto when I was finished, she had wisely stayed out of the way, no matter what the story books and plays say, three people dueling in a small space will get someone killed!

"What will we do with her?" Ginny asked, showing me more respect than she ever had. Not that she was ever disrespectful, but this felt different. I guess because she did not know who I was. She kicked Alecto in the ribs I heard one crack.

I winced and shouted "Gin! Stop, I am exhausted, I don't know if I can fix that. You always have to take it too far!" I was tired and not thinking about what I was saying.

Ginny froze and looked at Amycus with his crawling eyebrows and then slowly back at me. "Alya….?"

Shit! How could I have used that spell? And called her by a familiar nickname? Stupid, stupid, stupid! Nothing for it now, and I was out of breath anyway, the mask was making it hard to get enough oxygen. I pulled it off. "Yes, Ginny?"

She stared at me, amazed and horrified all at the same time. And just when it could not get worse, it did. Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom burst through the doors and halted when they saw me panting, maskless, the Carrows stunned, one tied up and that Ginny was fine.

"Ginny… we got here as soon as we could… what…?" Neville seemed at a loss for words. Luna just watched me speculatively.

"Help… help me heal her." I pointed at Alecto "I have to alter their memories.

Luna went to heal the cracked rib while Neville helped Ginny up.

Leaning over Amycus I gritted my teeth. Merlin but I was exhausted "The threat to… harm Ginny…" Neville looked at me sharply "was just to scare her. The thought of defiling yourself with the body of a blood traitor makes your skin crawl." There, that should cover the caterpillar eyebrows "in fact, now the thought of touching ANY student makes you unable to perform."

I went over and altered Alecto's memories as well, and then turned to the three. "Expelliarmus!" and grabbed all three of their wands from the air. They looked so shocked it almost made me laugh.

Instead I pointed my wands at them "I am so sorry… I have to… you have seen my face…"

Ginny just continued to look shocked. Neville contemplated me "That was pretty good, there is another choice besides altering our memories."

Not from where I was sitting, it was as much for their safety as mine. There was a price on the head of The Peacock, not a big one, I was no Harry Potter… but still…. I waved my hand for him to continue. To be honest, I was so exhausted I was not sure I could do it anyway.

"Join D.A. become one of us and fight these bastards!" Had Neville Longbottom just used a swear? I looked him up and down. He had changed. He looked… damned, puberty had caught up to him in some very pleasing ways!

"D.A.?" I asked wearily.

He started explaining Dumbledore's Army. Ginny and Luna filled in some of the blanks. They had really organized this whole… army thing?

"I will consider it." I tossed them back their wands "I am too tired to do it anyway. I will consider your offer." I stood to leave "Take care of Ginny for me."

The Carrows would be up and about soon and we needed to be far gone.

And I was considering it. I was not sure that I wanted to be part of an "us" but it was a thought.

After all, I was doing great on my own. All the way up until Draco found my mask that is.

We had been in the deep dungeons making out in the Viper's private room when he leaned against the box I had hidden it in. I caught it just as it hit the floor and tried unsuccessfully to stuff it back in the box before he saw what it was.

He held out his hand expectantly. He would never just grab something from me. And he did not expect me to be an obedient little pureblood fiancé, but when he was serious, he expected me to do as he asked.

I handed the mask over without a word. I could not meet his eyes.

He sighed "You. I should have known. This ends now, Alya, do you know how much I have sacrificed and betrayed to keep you safe?"

I thought about the packet he gave me… what was in that exactly? "No… but I can guess. How can you ask me to do less than you have to keep the ones I love safe?" I took his hand pleading with him to understand.

"The discussion is over Alya. I will not lose you to this war. I have lost my family home, my family has lost its influence. I have sacrificed everything I am for this. I will NOT lose you as well." What could I say when he pulled me in to his arms? The discussion was over. I would never bring it up to him again.

Later that week I found myself outside of the Gryffindor Tower.

"I'm in." I said to Neville. I needed a team. An Army. I could not use my mask without Draco knowing. If I wanted to stop them I needed help.


	59. The Room of Requirement

Things were really rough after that. The Carrows would not actually kill anyone, but they got really vicious in their torture. Not terribly creative, and much of it could be cured with simple potions, but they did like to spill blood.

I would sneak in to the infirmary to steal healing potions and ingredients to brew them at night to fix the worst of their damage, but it was starting to wear on me. Every day I would be in class studying like the good little Slytherin I was, but at night… at night I was The Peacock still. Just without the mask.

One night while I was gathering supplies, a light fell over me. I looked up horrified and surprised to see Madame Pomphrey holding a lantern and staring at me. "I… just… need to…" I was babbling, but I could not find the words I needed.

"In the locked cabinet you may find supplies for your studies MissWeasley. The key is in the top drawer of my desk. Next time just ask for the school supplies you need." She turned out the light and walked away.

I quickly grabbed the key and opened the cabinet. Inside were vials and vials of healing potions and ingredients and… pepper up potions! I grabbed everything I could and sneaked out back to the dungeons.

It was a little easier after that. Not better, just easier. I was becoming addicted to the pepper up potions. I was taking them day and night and the occasional dreamless sleep just to get a few hours of rest.

I was looking rough, but I explained it to Draco as stress. Since there had been no more sightings of The Peacock he believed me.

People were disappearing outside of the school. We got word that they had tried to go after Neville's grandmother. She sent him a letter saying how proud she was of him after that.

Luna had been dragged off of the train and we had no idea where she was or even if she was still alive.

I was sneaking around in my snake form when I heard the Carrows talking to that mean old squib Filch about the best place to "keep" Neville until he could be transported.

I slithered as quickly as I could to find him and we ran. He scooped me up and slid me in to his pocket. I could feel him pacing and then quickly moving. He pulled me from his pocket and I found myself in a room with a hammock and Gryffindor banner.

He set me down and I transformed. "where are we?" I asked looking around.

"The Room of Requirement, it was the only place I could think of." He replied gasping for air.

I looked around the room. "Well, it isn't the dungeons, but it will work I guess. We need to get you out of the school, you need to go on the run Neville maybe…"

"I am staying." He said simply and resolutely. "I can't run from this. I guess none of us can now. I am not much but…"

"Mot much?!" I shouted "Neville, you are brilliant! You kept this whole army going and now this? How can you say you are not much?"

Neville blushed. "Well, looks like I will be living here now." He said awkwardly.

"I will do what I can to get you food and supplies." I could not stay and we both knew it.

The Carrows were becoming paranoid about traitors in the school. We Slytherin's were summoned in to the common room by the pair. "We know that the other House's hold blood traitors. Slytherin's are the only ones we can trust. Form now on you will be in charge of minor discipline. Anyone caught failing in this will be punished as the blood traitors they are."

I kept my head down and did not look them in the eyes. I felt Draco's hand clasp mine reassuringly.

Crabbe and Goyle were really in to the idea of torture. They did not even wait until a student was officially sentenced to detention to cast a cruciatus curse on them. They were top students in the Dark Arts, the only thing they had ever excelled in, and they were eager to show off their skills.

Using occlumency and legilimens, and of course by altering memories, I was able to fake the torture of students. They were a little worse for wear when I was done, but they were much better off than if they had actually been tortured.

I would visit Neville in the RoR every chance I got, one day when we were in there he said "The worst part is not being able to get enough food. I wish there was a more reliable source."

I had managed to sneak him as much as I could, but I could tell he was losing weight.

Almost as soon as he said that, a painting swung open revealing a smooth stone passageway.

"We need to find out where that goes." Neville looked grim.

I nodded "I will go first. I am more likely to get away with it if we run into anyone." Wand out I made my way down the long tunnel.

We came out in to a place I immediately recognized! The Hogs Head Inn! The old barkeep, Aberforth I think his name was, looked up at us in surprise. "Hey now, what are you two up to?"

I looked at him, really looked at him for the first time. I almost vomited at the resemblance he bore to Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Somethin' wrong girl?" he barked at me.

"No… it is just you look like…" I hesitated.

"Dumbledore!" Neville barked out.

"Well, that's because I AM Dumbledore. One of 'em anyway. Your old Headmaster was my brother." Dumbledore had a brother?

"I saw a picture of you with the old Order of the Phoenix." Neville nodded.

"Yeah, well, I was a lot younger then. What do you mean by bursting through that old tunnel?" He seemed gruff, but not unkind.

We explained what was happening at the school. "Well, I reckon you can come here for a bite now and again. But never try to leave after curfew, and keep your traps shut!"

Neville got a bite to eat and they talked about the state of the Order. I was too exhausted to keep up, so I curled up by the fire and napped.

Neville woke me up a couple of hours later and took me back to the castle, I was still half asleep. "You really should take a few days off, Alya, you look ready to collapse."

He was being kind, I looked like I had been dragged through dragon dung. "Thanks Neville, I will try." I didn't mean it, but it was… something to say I guess.

I kept up my work, little things like writing "Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting" on walls and such.

After feeling like they had gained some control, we were allowed to go home for the Easter holiday.

I could not leave. There was too much to do still. Ginny pleaded with me. "Please. Alya, I don't like what this is doing to you. Come home, run, don't stay here."

I hugged her "I won't abandon this school, Gin. And I won't abandon Draco to this place. But you… just stay home, Ginny. Don't come back." She nodded and we hugged again. It was the last time I would see her until the end of the year.


	60. Good Little Slytherin

I became the "insider" for the D.A. It was arguably my most important job, in between playing the good little Slytherin and getting emergency supplies.

I could go places and get information in my snake form that no one else could get. I had no idea why they were not regulating me until a transfiguration class with McGonagall shed some light on how I had managed to remain unnoticed.

We were going over what we would need for N.E.W.T.s, which was a laugh because no one was coming to Hogwarts to administer them. And who could blame the officials?

She was listing the known and registered Aninagi. As she read the names I tensed. I knew she had to be honest, the spells put up to prevent cheating and make sure we got accurate information would ensure that. I waited for her to call my name. It was not generally well known that I was an animagus. Or had not been until now I guessed. I really didn't talk to anyone outside of my friends, so only they and my family knew. And they sure weren't talking.

She never called my name out. Could she have hidden it? No, that was impossible. I could feel her gaze on me, but I never looked up. I thought about it. How could I NOT be on that list?

I thought back to the day I registered. Mr. Malfoy had taken a folder from Mr. Yaxley. I had dismissed it at the time, but there was an "sley" visible. Had Mr. Malfoy blocked my registration? And if so, why? It seemed unlikely, but as Sherlock Homes said, once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is the truth.

So that must be it, there was no other real explanation. It had been drilled in to us how the N.E.W.T.s were impossible to cheat. Even for the professors.

So… no one knew? Outside of a handful of people? Did that make me a criminal? Did it even matter? After all under the new regime what I was doing already was illegal.

I used it to my advantage. Well… I always had, but now I knew it. I became even more bold. I hid in closets in their very rooms. I sneaked in to private meetings.

That was how I found out about the first year they were holding chained in the basement. I knew we had to do something. They paired me with Michael Cormer, Ginny's first boyfriend. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. He was dedicated, I will give him that.

Dedicated, but not equipped to deal with the Carrows. We sneaked down to the dungeons easy enough. With our hidden passageways that was not a difficult task.

The poor little guy, some Gryffindor, was pretty beat up. He looked starved and they had used him as a pincushion.

I unlocked the chains and ushered him in to the tunnels, but the Carrows were ready for us. They must have had some sort of alarm. I quickly dropped to snake form, the young boy was already through and running, but Michael… he had no defenses. They bound him.

I was certain they would kill him straight off, but they were not so merciful. "You will make an excellent test subject for our Slytherin students." Alecto laughed.

No… oh no! I knew what she meant. Or I thought I did. They would let Crabbe and Goyle have a crack at him.

But I was wrong, so wrong.

We were called to the Great Hall where the Headmaster and the Carrows were waiting. It was just us Slytherins.

"This blood traitor has turned against your blood and your school. We will teach him a lesson. All of you prepare your best non-lethal hexes and curses. He will be made an example of for all of those who wish to defy us." Amycus looked gleeful. I wanted to vomit and looking around I knew I wasn't the only one.

I felt in my pocket for my Pepper Up potion. I would have to make this a really good show.

My pocket was empty! I knew I had used the last one getting that boy out. I was too exhausted to fake this. How… how could I torture my partner in this?

Michael looked at me. I could see a warning in his eyes. I was not to give myself up. I gave a small nod. Oh please in the name of Salazar Slytherin, please let me be able to fix whatever we were forced to do to him!

There were about 50 of us. One by one we had to step forward and cast a curse. There were small, simple ones being performed. Body bind, jelly legs. OK, maybe this would not be so bad.

Because of how my name fell I was last. I stepped forward. I could not cast caterpillar eyebrows for fear of causing Amycus' memories to surface. A bat bogey hex of Ginny's maybe? Perfect! Non lethal, embarrassing but not harmful.

"One moment, Miss Weasley." Alecto said as I prepared to cast. "We need this to be truly memorable. YOU will cast the cruciatus."

No! How.. why? But I knew. This was a test. I would do it or I would be marked a blood traitor. The look in her eyes told me that.

And I had no energy to fake it. Michael looked at me with understanding. He knew I had to remain a secret for the good of the D.A.

I nodded and stepped forward. "Just remember how much you hate blood traitors and those that disgrace wizarding kind." Amycus said, sneering at Michael.

My father's words of long ago came back to me in that moment. I thought to myself "You and I have very different ideas about what disgraces wizarding kind."

Summoning my hatred of the Carrows I pointed my wand at Michael and shouted "Cruciatus!"

He screamed and writhed on the ground.

"Again." Instructed Alecto.

I hit him with it again. I was forced to do it three more times before they let me stop.

I looked up, surprised to see them both smiling at me. Professor Snape was staring impassively straight ahead.

"You have managed to overcome the deplorable training of your blood traitor parents." Alecto was smiling at me in an almost gentle way.

It was bloody terrifying.

"Indeed." Said Amycus "Draco Malfoy, you have chosen well. She is indeed one of us." They each hugged me. It made my skin crawl.

Michael was dragged off. I had no idea where they would be taking him to.

I plastered a fake smile on my face and kept it there until we were dismissed.

I kept smiling as Crabbe and Goyle congratulated me.

I kept smiling as my friends looked at me with sympathy and encouragement.

I kept smiling even as Draco took my hand to lead me from the Great Hall. I did not cast so much as a glance back at Professor Snape.

I kept smiling and accepting congratulations from the extreme blood purists in Slytherin.

I kept smiling as other students in other houses looked at me with a mix of disgust and fear.

I kept smiling until I reached the dungeons and vomited everything I had ever eaten in my life and cried into Draco's chest.


	61. A trip to Hogsmeade

**In the movie Ginny stayed at Hogwarts. In the books she did not return after the Easter Holiday until Fred and George brought her back when summoned by the D.A. coins.**

Michael was… OK. To call him good was a stretch, but we managed to liberate him from the Ravenclaw tower and take him to the RoR. It had become a little more crowded over the past several weeks as students who were being threatened with "transportation", and I did not even want to consider what that meant, fled.

I healed him as best I could and I apologized. To my surprised he hugged me "You were magnificent Weasley." He said. Noting my surprise he laughed weakly. "If it wasn't for what you did, you would be under suspicion and we would have lost our best spy."

Spy. Like a real army. I looked around. The place was full of teenagers and those even younger. Aberforth was supplying us with food. How could we be forced to fight like this? It made me sick. What I had done, what I was becoming.

With my cursing of Michael I was allowed more freedoms. Draco and I went to Hogsmeade, but it was hardly the place it was a few years ago. We could not risk going to Aberforth's place, so we went of all places to Madam Pudifoot's.

It was still gaudy, but it had become rather shabby in the time of Death Eater rule.

"Draco… why are we here?" I asked confused, looking around.

"Don't you realize what day this is?" He asked with a smile.

I frowned, it wasn't either of our birthdays. Not our anniversary, first date or otherwise. I finally shook my head. "No, sorry." My brain was fried. I had no ability to play "guess what the special event is" game with him.

He pulled a piece of chocolate from within his robes "Happy Valentine's Day love."

My eyes teared up. I could not believe that even in this time he had managed to remember.

"Oh, Draco… you are amazing, you know that?" I hugged him.

Stroking my hair gently he whispered "I just thought you could use a little cheering up after everything you have been through.

We enjoyed a quiet meal at Madam Pudifoot's and then decided to take a stroll through the village.

We walked to the new site of Weasley Wizard Wheezes. I could see Fred and George working hard. Both were dressed in suits. I was surprised by how serious and business like they looked. I really wanted to stop in.

"I don't know, Aly…" Draco looked concerned "Your family… they are not exactly my biggest fans."

"Where is that Draco "arrogance combined with screw what other people think" that I love so much?" I squeezed his hand. "They will love you because I do." I reassured him.

He did not look convinced, but he let me drag him in.

"Alya!" Fred called out as soon as I got inside.

I ran to hug both him and George. Draco stood a little nervous looking in the doorway. I hated that. He was always so self assured. Seeing him like this… it wasn't natural and it concerned me.

"You two remember Draco?" I tried to break the ice dragging him forward.

The three shook hands a little stiffly, but if that was as bad as it got I would take it. No one was drawing wands, that was progress. Right?

We looked around in the shop, enjoying the tour Fred and George were taking us on. Even Draco looked impressed by the shield hats and cloaks.

I was surprised to see that Pria's cosmetics and Esme's scents were also on display. It occurred to me then how little time I had for my friends these days.

"Your friends' products are very popular." Fred smiled down at me. "Glad you introduced us to them."

There was no "even though they are Slytherin" in his tone. He seemed genuinely pleased.

"I am glad they are doing so well. I love your new line of cloaks and hats." I said, noticing Draco's interest.

"We got a large order from the Ministry before… well, you know." George frowned.

"Yeah… I do know. I am so glad you two are doing well. We need laughs these days." My brothers were pleased with the well wishes, I could tell.

"Yeah, Harry said the same thing when…" George stopped, as though he were going to say something wrong.

I ignored it at the time, but filed that information away for later. Harry said that when he… what?

"Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley" I looked around for my father, it took me a moment to realize she was speaking to Fred and George. "We have another large order that was just requested, it requires your approval."

She looked at me somewhat disapprovingly, as though I were disturbing very important business. It occurred to me that maybe I was!

"OK, I will get out of your hair." I smiled up at my brothers. Such important business men! I had not realized until this moment that this was more than just another one of their pranks and gaffs. They took this very seriously.

"We will be right there Mariah." Fred looked back at me "Sorry Little Snake, duty calls. Stop in again sometime if you get a chance."

I had not noticed Draco was gone until I looked for him. He was buying a large assortment of hats and cloaks.

"What are you doing, love?" I asked.

"The younger students." He motioned at his purchases "The ones who cannot cast a proper spell yet."

I hugged him noticing that George was looking at him speculatively.

Draco and I left the store and continued looking in various shops and enjoying our day.

We stopped outside of the Shrieking Shack to enjoy a picnic that Draco had delivered to us. "I wish we had more time for things like this." In addition to not having enough time for my friends, I also felt like I was neglecting Draco.

"We will, this war can't last forever." He lay his head down in my lap "One day, it will just be you and I in a nice little house."

I looked at him skeptically. He laughed "OK, not little house, it will be a nice Manor somewhere, but still. It will be just us."

There was a question I had never dared to ask him. Now felt like as good a time as any. "Draco… what your father and my grandmother did… binding us in a contract… are you… are you upset about that?" I had never dared ask him about his feelings on the matter. I knew it was fine with me, nice even not to wonder who I would be with as an adult.

"Why would I regret that?" he asked looking up at me with half lidded eyes.

"You had so many other choices, girls who are prettier, better connected…" I hated how insecure I sounded.

Draco leaned up to kiss me "Alya Weasley I have regretted many things in my life. My attitude, my actions, the actions of my family. You are one thing I have never regretted."

I lay down next to him so he could wrap me in his arms. I wished we could stay like this forever.


	62. Aberforth's Advice

Draco kept having to return home. I have no idea why, he kept telling me not to worry, but I couldn't help it. I knew who was there, or had a good guess since he didn't exactly tell me the goings on in his home. And that was BEFORE the return of He Who Must Not Be Named.

I hated having him gone, but it made it easier to do some of my clandestine work.

It was time to restock on the food supplies. The Death Eaters were getting to be a real nuisance in Hogsmeade so it was decided that I would go this time. The last time when Seamus and Dean went they were almost caught when they opened a side door outside instead. At least with me, I sort of had permission to be there.

And I really needed to get out anyway. I had stopped putting up D.A. recruitment signs because after what I had done to Michael… I just couldn't ask anyone else to join. The ones we had were in enough danger.

Everyone kept treating me like a hero. It was… bloody awful. I did not feel like a hero. I am supposed to be one of the good Slytherin's and instead I felt no better than Crabbe and Goyle. It didn't matter that they enjoyed it and I struggle with guilt every day. All that matters is that I tortured a comrade in arms, a friend.

I made it down the tunnel with no issues. I was sure glad at that time that I wasn't afraid of tight spaces or the dark. The tunnel was usually well lit, but on occasion the spells had to be reinforced or the lights got dim. And this was definitely one of those nights.

As I went along relighting the couple that had gone out and reinforcing ones that were just not well lit, I had time to think about my part in all of this.

The thing is, I shouldn't have had any part. None of us should! I don't know why that monster insisted that he have control of Hogwarts. Oh I suppose from a tactical and strategic point it made sense. Train students young when they don't know any better and you will have a readymade army for later. From a long term stand point I just didn't think it made any sense.

It meant either the Dark… I mean He Who Must Not Be Named, expected this war to continue for a very long time… in which case I was pretty sure I would be dead from exhaustion, or he expected it to end really quickly. In which case we were all screwed anyway and nothing I was doing now mattered.

I wasn't thinking about giving up, mostly because I wasn't really thinking at all. I felt like someone had stuck me on a broom with a flight path spelled in and I was just circling a Quidditch pitch.

When I finally made it to the Hogs Head Inn I listened very carefully at the door for any sounds on the other side. Hearing nothing I slipped out quickly and sat at the table like I had always been there. The painting of Arianna was smiling down at me. Such a tragedy. She looked like she could have been such a gentle soul.

I took a few minutes to look around. The place was worn for sure, but in a rustic homey sort of way. Except for the little touches that Mum had given it, the place sort of reminded me of the Burrow. Nothing was whole, but it all looked well loved. I did think it odd that Ab kept a broken mirror on the wall, surely he could fix it? I thought about repairing it for him, but it probably had sentimental value the way it was.

The tables had hash marks in them from where knives had cut up meats and vegetables for the Inn's patrons. Or at least I hoped that all that had been cut up were dinner fixings. Ab could be pretty scary sometimes. You really got a sense he wasn't a man to cross.

Not that I ever felt threatened. In a way it made me feel comforted that no one was just going to walk past him and catch me here. He would probably twist them in to knots.

I giggled a bit. Merlin was I starting to lose what little mind I had left.

"That sounded like the poorest excuse for a laugh I have ever heard in this place." I heard Ab's gruff voice from the door "And I get Mundungus Fletcher in here on a regular night."

"Who do you get on an irregular night?" I couldn't help wonder out loud.

"Mostly? You lot. Beyond that you don't want to know." He tossed a sack down on the table. A couple of apples rolled out. "Thought you folk might appreciate them." He said with a shrug.

"I am sure they will, Ab. Thanks." I slowly stood from the table, swaying just a bit.

Aberforth looked at me with stern eyes. "Sit before you collapse."

I didn't even have the strength to argue. He poured me a strong cup of tea and slid it across with a couple of rolls and some cheese. "Eat and sit down for a few minutes." It did not seem like a request.

I didn't have the energy to argue, but I had to admit I felt much better after a few bites of food and drinking almost half the tea in one long swallow.

"Better?" Ab asked, refilling my cup.

"Much… thanks Ab." He nodded.

"So your friends tell me you have been having some struggles with the actions you are being asked to perform." Again, it did not sound like a question.

I shrugged "Maybe a bit. I never expected to go to school and have to… harm someone."

"Yeah, well… a lot of people are doing a lot of things they never expected to do. Come here, I want to show you something."

To my surprise he took me to that same broken mirror I had seen before. In it I was surprised to see Harry's eye looking back at me! I jumped back "What….?"

"That mirror came from Sirius Black." I felt my chest squeeze at the name "Been using it to keep an eye on Harry, Hermione and your brother Ron."

I looked away from him and back to the mirror. Sure enough as Harry was twisting the mirror in his hand I could see Ron and Hermione… and… was that Bill and Fleur?

"Wait! They are at Shell Cottage?" I recognized the wall paper behind Harry."

"That they are. Take a closer look." He walked away back toward the table.

As I was looking at Harry I noticed he didn't seem well. Neither did Ron and Hermione. They looked worn out and Hermione looked… beaten. As in physically.

"Ab… what happened to them?" I needed to know, but I was afraid of the answer.

"Well… you might want to ask your boyfriend about that. It was his house I sent Dobby to rescue them from." I rested my forehead against the wall. Please I silently pleaded to whomever was listening, please don't let Draco have been the one forced to do it.

"Do you feel bad? Good. That is what keeps you human. Those three are out there risking it all to bring down that monster. We all have a role to play, Weasley. And none of us asked for it. Not your boyfriend, not me, not you and sure as hell not those three." He jerked his head towards the mirror. "Now, my job is to take care of you lot and when Potter gets here to rile him up so he has enough fire in his belly to finish this. Your job is to play whatever role you have, whether that is spy, food gatherer or torturing a friend to make certain they don't know there is a spy among them. It isn't a nice easy job. Or safe. But we are going to do it anyway. Even though no one asked us if we wanted to. Hell, maybe even BECAUSE no one asked us to. Now, you drank my tea and ate my good cheese. Haul your arse back up that tunnel and go give those kids some hope."

I took one look back at the mirror, grabbed the sacks of food and nodded. "Thanks Ab. I needed to hear that." He nodded back at me.


	63. Gryffindor's High Inqusitor

**Trigger, I should have put this in during Ginny's detention, but I am going to add that now. This chapter will contain suggestions of past sexual assault. There will be nothing overt and nothing described. I do not write non consensual sex scenes. These will be mere suggestions.**

I started proving myself more and more to the Carrow's after that. I became their go to person for detention Inquisition Monitor. Yes, in a stroke of evil brilliance, the Carrow's had reinstated most of Umbride's rules, which I had been lucky to escape the first time, including the Inquisitorial Squad. These were the students they called upon to watch over detention students and administer torture as devised by the Carrow's.

I learned as random as their punishments appeared to be there was a method to the madness. A twisted evil method, but they were not torturing students without a purpose behind it. Funny how that did not make me feel better at all.

The mildest sentences were received students who had broken school rules. These students were given regular detentions, the types of which Hogwarts had always used. Writing lines, scrubbing cauldrons and the like. These students were considered loyal and true to Hogwarts. Meaning of course loyal and true to He Who Must Not Be Named. These were almost nearly always Slytherin students. Their professor's were deemed sufficient to watch over these detentions.

The second tier were students who committed infractions and were considered subversive elements. These students would be tortured with the cruciatus by other students. Fortunately these students usually held no ill will and therefore the pain was minimized. Trustworthy Slytherin students were assigned to monitor these. Hence the title Inquisition Monitor".

Students who had subversive parents would be tortured the worst over the most minor infractions, breaking curfew failure to turn in a homework assignment things of that nature. Then their parents would be sent letters on how long they had endured the cruciatus or being chained in the dungeons, or whatever their sentence had been.

The older girls had stopped visibly flinching every time Amycus walked past. Considering Ginny's near torture and the suggestion I had implanted, I considered this a good sign. I prayed to all that was good and true that no parent had ever received a letter detailing that particular sentence.

Inquisitorial Monitors were assigned and given ranks and there was a priority system in place. I was assigned to watch over the punishments of subversive students. They had Inquisitors for each House and I was assigned Gryffindor. I am positive this was not randomly chosen.

I knew things were going to get a lot worse so I began practicing the Imperius curse the same way I had practiced to alter memories and obliviated. This was getting to be dark. Torturing with pain was bad enough but to take away free will… I hoped I could go through with it.

The good news, if it could be called that, was that when I wanted to learn the Imperius Amycus Carrow had smiled upon me as though I were his prized pupil. "The Older Malfoy's may be finished, but with you by his side, young Draco may yet have a chance to prove himself." And he had taught me what I needed to know. I practiced on small animals and finally first years. I did not make them do anything horrible, but I still felt dirty and sick afterwards.

I would have my chance to test it for real soon. I read over my roster duties and looked at my list of upcoming detainees. One name was horrifyingly familiar.

"Seamus Finnegan- Failure to submit Muggle Studies homework in a timely fashion. Suspected insurgent. Sentence: Ten minutes of the Cruciatus Curse to be administered by Inquisitorial Monitor Alya Weasley."

They suspected him. That was the only logical conclusion. Or was it me that was the suspect?

This was my test. I knew it, everyone knew it. Draco stayed close to me over the days leading up to my detention session with Seamus. I wanted to ask him what Amycus had meant when he said the older Malfoy's were finished, but I didn't quite dare. He and I just took comfort in one another. We did our homework together; read together in the evenings, pretty much, we did everything together.

That Saturday I was to monitor and administer Seamus' detention and punishment. I was as prepared as I would ever be. Either what I had planned would work or both Seamus and I would likely be dead.

I remembered Harry, Ron and Hermione. And Aberforth's words and I steeled myself for what was to come. I would torture another comrade in arms.

I was surprised to see both Carrow's in the detention room. Why would they want to oversee this particular detention? I greeted them with a slight bow, the way we had been taught and read the sentencing, keeping any hint of emotion from my voice.

"Seamus Finnegan, you have failed to submit your Muggle Studies homework, a necessary part of your proper education as a wizard. You are suspected of being an insurgent and encouraging others to rebel against the Dark Lord. Your sentence is ten minutes of the cruciatus curse." I allowed a sneer to cross my face and a mocking tone to enter my voice "As part of my own education here at Hogwarts…" I looked over at Amycus with my best student ever smile "I would beg the indulgence of my Dark Arts professor in using the new spell he has taught me." I did not take my eyes off of Amycus, I could not bear to see the fear in Seamus' eyes.

"You may proceed, Inquisitor Weasley." Amycus replied beaming down at me.

I pretended to have difficulty in casting the Imperius, I finally in mock rage grabbed him by the robes, stuck my wand to his throat and shouted "Imperius!" casting it for real this time. I whispered quickly in his ear "You will thrash about on the ground and scream in pain as I cast the cruciatus. You will give no indication that you are not in pain."

Afterwards I made him do a silly childhood dance from for the Carrows just to show my control over him. When he was finished I hit him with the first of the cruciatus I would use over the next ten minutes. This was the moment of truth. If Seamus struggled in any way I would be forced to use the curse for real.

I worried needlessly. Seamus performed brilliantly! If I did not know I had cast the curse with no true ill will behind it and thus could not be actually doing him harm, I would have thought I was torturing him almost to death.

And afterwards, well, if Seamus was sobbing in relief and not pain, only he and I knew that. They threw him out "I will relish writing this letter." Alecto smiled wickedly.

"Didn't I tell you, Alecto? This one is good and loyal to the cause. She came to me of her own free will to learn that curse! The work we are doing here is finally paying off and the scourge of the filthy mudbloods will soon be scrubbed clean." Amycus had come up to wrap an arm around my shoulders.

"Yes, yes, Amycus, your prized pupil has shown her true loyalties. " Damned right I have, I thought to myself.

"We have a new assignment for you, Inquisitor Weasley, you shall be the new High Inquisitor of Gryffindor. You will now be in charge of overseeing all punishments administered to students of that house. This is a big opportunity for you in the new order. Continue to show yourself worthy." I nodded and smiled, this time it was not faked. I could protect one house. Just one, but it would be better than none. "You will answer only to the two of us and the Headmaster. You are to bother us only in an emergency. Heads of Houses have no authority to gain say you. Do you understand?"

"Yes Professor!" I smiled again, but this time a little worried. What were the Carrow's going to be up to that they were turning over so many of their duties to me?

"These are your two fellow High Inquisitors for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw." Two boys entered. Of course they were Crabbe and Goyle.


	64. The Invitation

I performed my duties well. No one ever knew I was not really torturing Gryffindors except the Gryffindors themselves and they sure weren't talking.

I met Seamus just after his "torture" session in the RoR and he immediately threw his arms around me. "You were brilliant Alya! Now we can practice throwing off the Imperius for real, I am much better now that I know what it really feels like, and you did it without harming me at all. He did a pirouette to show me he was uninjured. The rest of the D.A. came up to congratulate me. I felt like one of the good guys again. It was nice.

Amycus trusted me after that. Alecto never really did warm up to me. For which I was very glad. I had no idea what it would take to get a sociopath like her to treat me as her favored student, and I didn't want to.

Being the favored of Amycus was horrid enough. Ordinary students not involved in the D.A. and not part of the good little Death eater inner circle started looking at me in the halls as if I would curse them for breathing hard. I thought back to what Dumbledore had asked me. How far was I willing to go to save Draco? Was I willing to let everyone see me as a traitor? I told him yes then. If I was willing to go that far for Draco, shouldn't I be willing to go that far for others? Even if I was terrified of being caught the entire time?

I never told the others, but I hid a bag of clothes and food in the forest. If it came down to it I could change in to a snake and slither away, grab my bag and run. Being honest with myself I knew there was a reason I was sorted in to Slytherin. I was an ambitious coward.

But back to Alecto. She became convinced I knew something about Harry Potter's location and plans. I suppose because my brother is his best friend.

I was called in to the headmaster's office one day. I was really glad, I had not seen Professor Snape in so long! But this was to be no social visit. I knew as soon as I saw the Carrow's there that something was up.

"High Inquisitor Weasley, the time to declare your loyalties has come." Alecto stated, twirling her wand. "As you know, anyone who has knowledge of the location or plans of Harry Potter, Undesirable Number One and conceals it will be treated as a traitor."

I knew this. I knew it meant Azkaban, but I wasn't worried, I had no idea where he was and no knowledge about his plans.

"It has come to our attention," Professor Snape spoke up "That you have been seen repeatedly in the Hogs Head Inn. A known former member of the organization the Order of the Phoenix is the owner of that establishment."

I schooled my features to look only mildly interested. Except, I realized with horror that I DID know where Harry was! Or at least had been. Shell cottage! My brother and his wife were there at the very least.

Thankfully my look of horror was mistaken for something else "See how shocked she is, Alecto? I told you she didn't know anything."

"Mmmmm…." Alecto replied looking deep in to my eyes. She was a legilimens! That was how they guessed who was in the D.A. I focused my mind on Draco. I let no other thoughts cloud the surface and I shut down all other emotions. I knew she had got nothing when she frowned "Perhaps you are correct, Amycus. Perhaps she is ready after all."

Ready? Ready for what?

"You are to meet the Dark Lord and in his presence declare your loyalty." My loyalty… did she mean take the Dark Mark? And in his presence? Merlin I was royally screwed. I knew I would run before I ever took that thing!

"When… when am I to meet the Dark Lord?" I asked, trying to look pleased and humbled. I was already making my escape plans.

"Soon… at once in fact." She smiled evilly as the door opened and Draco was led in. "Mr. Malfoy, you are to escort High Inquisitor Weasley to your home." Draco was not stupid. He knew what this meant. I also knew that neither of us had enough courage between us to defy these people and make a break for it.

Draco came forward and took my hand. As we walked towards the fireplace Professor Snape said "Do not fear, the Dark Lord is most pleased with his reports of you."

That was supposed to make me NOT afraid? I didn't want him to know I even existed!

We walked out of the Malfoy fireplace in to what looked like a dining room, but nothing like our cozy dining room at the Burrow. This was elegant, but dark and frightening.

The table was surrounded by seated people. Death Eaters. Mr. and mrs. Malfoy were there. Mr. Malfoy looked awful. I had never seen him disheveled and unshaven before. His appearance frightened me almost as much as the man seated at the head of the table.

No, that was a lie. The man… if he could rightly be called that, was terrifying! What happened to his face? Merlin he looked like a snake of sorts.

"Ahhhh…. Draco." He hissed. "This must be your young lady, yes?" I felt Draco nod stiffly beside me. His hand had not left mine.

"This, my Death Eaters, is Miss Alya Weasley." some sniffed disgusted at me "Now, we will have none of that!" he ordered, silencing them at once. "Miss Weasley has earned her place among us. She has risen through the student ranks to become High Inquisitor. She is in charge of all discipline second only to the Carrow's themselves. She has proven efficient at both the cruciatus and imperius curses. You have earned your place among us Miss Weasley." He stood and hugged me to himself. It was mind numbingly terrifying, but I withstood it.

He motioned me to a place between the Malfoy's. There were two chairs, one beside Mrs. Malfoy and one beside Mr. Malfoy. I took the one next to Mr. Malfoy. Draco held out my chair.

"Ahhh, such a gentleman to your fiancé. It warms even my heart." I knew this was supposed to be a sarcastic joke when the Death Eaters laughed. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy only laughed politely I noticed.

"Miss Weasley has unstintingly and without fear, offered her worldly possessions to our cause. She ensured that even the worthless Lucius had comforts in his Azkaban cell. There can be no greater show of loyalty than this. Why I am sure had I asked Miss Weasley for her wand instead of yours, Lucius, she would have given it willingly." I could see how Mr. Malfoy tensed.

Lucius Malfoy was an awful man. A coward who had led his family down the path of madness and destruction. But right now he was also a frightened man. I reached out to take his hand the way I had so often with Pria and Draco when they were upset or afraid. He did not acknowledge me, but he did squeeze my hand back.

"Is this not so, Miss Weasley?" He turned his fearsome smile on me once more.

"Yes, of course my Lord. But you would not want this pitiful hand me down wand. It is not powerful enough for someone of your strength. Never the less" I knew this to be another test and placed my wand on the table "Should you have need, no matter how pitiful it is, I offer it to you gladly."

He called it to himself with a wave of his hand "Do I detect… ash?"

"Yes my Lord. The core is unicorn hair. It has been serviceable for school purposes." I bowed my head.

"Ahhhh… I do hope all of you now see why taking Hogwarts was a priority. See how the students bend their will to mine? This is how we shall take back the world and make it safe for wizards. All minds turned to a single task. The eradication of mudbloods and seeing muggles in their proper place." He sounded disgustingly pleased. He had still not returned my wand. "You have not purchased a new wand. I doubt your mind can fully grasp the noble reason why." Was I just insulted? It was hard to tell. "Loyalty. And I do admire loyalty above all other traits. Save for my own personal power, naturally." He smiled as if this were an inside joke we were sharing. "But while admirable, it is now time you put your faith in me and me alone and give up these things of the past."

"I… am not fully certain I understand, My Lord." I knew this was the correct response when I felt Mr. Malfoy squeeze my hand again.

"But of course you do not. Allow me." He pulled out a rectangle box and with another wave of his hand pushed it to land in front of me. "Open it." Inside was a beautiful wand! Ebony wood and so shiny! There was a silver cap on top that bore Slytherin's symbol. "The core is dragon heartstring. The wand is most suited to your particular skills. Loyal, a fast learner and comfortable with themselves."

"I thank you my Lord." No way was I going to use this wand! I wanted my old wand back, but watched in horror as he snapped it in two. Bill had given me that wand. I would have no choice but to use this one until I could at least get Camille to make me a new one.

"We must be about our work now. Draco, take your young lady back to the castle where she can carry on her work in my name." In his name. Yeah, as if I didn't feel creepy enough about what I was doing. I squeezed Mr. Malfoy's hand in farewell before standing to leave. I bowed at the Dark Lord as I had been taught, causing another fleeting smile to appear on his face "Such manners, yes, you will make a wonderful addition as the wife to one of my Death Eater's in the years to come."

"Thank you my Lord." I said deferentially as Draco led me towards the fireplace.

When we returned to Hogwarts Draco hugged me tightly to his chest. "You performed brilliantly. You really are something Aly."

"Your father's condition worries me." I said sadly.

Draco looked at me a long time before kissing me on the forehead "You are too kind for your own good."


	65. Transportation

I continued my duties as both High Inquisitor and spy for the D.A. I felt good about my work, even as I complained about how exhausting it was. Rather like I was doing something to make amends to Dumbledore for having stood back and watched his death with no comment.

I was slithering along the corridors, keeping out of the way, being trampled on as a snake was no fun as I had learned one day when Frank accidentally stepped on my tail. My back has pained me slightly ever since.

I managed to sneak my way in to what I suppose was once a teacher's lounge, but now only the Carrow's ever used it. At least any time I went there it was only the two of them.

Which was really quite a shame, the place looked comfortable and was full of interesting bobs and baubles. As though Professors for hundreds of years had each left a little something behind. Which I suppose they had. Rumor has it Professor Binn's got up and left his body behind one morning.

Sure enough as I slithered through a hole in the wall where normally only mice and rats ventured, it was just the two of them. I got up close enough to the hole that I could hear what they were saying.

"The Dark Lord wants us to transport students who are children of these so-called Order people and other resistance fighters." Amycus was telling Alecto, who had clearly only just arrived.

"Does he not have enough faith in us to bring these children up to scratch?" Alecto sneered.

"I don't know, sister, why don't you sit down with him and have a chat about it?" Amycus did not seem to be in the mood to take any of his sister's back talk. I guess all brother's and sister's feel the same at some point, but I didn't want to share any similarities with them.

Snorting Alecto sat down "The moment I no longer value my life I will do that. Where are we transporting this lot? Malfoy Manor again?"

Malfoy Manor… had there been some of my friends there held hostage while I visited? Dean who had gone missing just after he was nearly caught getting food, Luna…

"No, don't you remember? That Potter boy released the ones held in Malfoy Manor. That Lovegood girl and that Thomas boy. Little shit even releases Olivander and that Goblin. No, this lot is bound for Azkaban." My stomach tied in knots.

"Pah, what good will that do? There are no dementors there, it is hardly a real punishment now is it?" Not a real punishment? This woman really was a sociopath.

I noticed a piece of parchment that Amycus had been reading slip from the table and hit the floor. Did I dare go grab it? I had to, I was certain it was a list of names.

I made my way out and slithered quickly under the bookshelf before I was seen. From the bookshelf I slithered to the table and went straight up the leg underneath the cloth. I held there until The Carrow's went back to arguing about how effective Azkaban was without dementors. I was thrilled and disgusted to see Amycus agreed with me. I did not want to think of him as human.

As I stretched my jaws towards the piece of parchment I froze. How I felt about these two was how they must feel about muggleborns. They had turned them less than human in their minds. If I kept doing the same would I turn out like them? It seemed unlikely, I mean these were bad people, right? And truly bad people were OK to… to what? Hate? Dehumanize? Because they deserved it? But what did that say about those who demeaned them?

I grabbed the piece of parchment and slithered away quickly. I was lucky not to be spotted since I had not bothered to hide myself.

I slithered quickly to the RoR.

Once inside I changed back to my human shape. No one was the slightest bit impressed. They were pretty used to it by now. "Oh, hey Alya" Neville called out. What do you have there? He asked as I pulled the parchment from between my teeth.

I grabbed a cup of tea and sat down. "Bad news, Neville, we can expect some students to be transported out. They are taking them to Azkaban. We need to get them out of here. Nothing for it, Neville, we still don't know what happened to Dean and Luna and I won't lose…"

Neville grinned and pointed behind me. Sitting in front of the fire drying out after clearly having just freshly showered were Dean and Luna!

I ran forward and hugged them both. I don't know when I turned in to a hugger, but this seemed the appropriate time for it. They both grinned and hugged me back.

"How is Draco?" Luna asked, dean scowled at this, but Luna was very accepting.

"He is… surviving Luna… he will be better once this is all over." I wanted to say that Draco was good, but I couldn't manage that big a lie.

"You make him better, you know. You keep him humane." It was almost as if Luna had read my thoughts from earlier.

"This one will be rough, Alya, it isn't going to be easy to get this many students out." Neville frowned at the list. "This is going to cause a disturbance. And we had better plan to do it all at once, if we try to do it piece meal we are likely to get caught very quickly."

"At least we don't have to worry so much about anyone getting hurt." Seamus said looking at the list "The majority of these students couldn't cast a shield charm to save their lives. Literally."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused "We don't have enough members of the army to cast a charm on each and every one of them." There were more than twenty names on that list "How are we going to get all of them out at once?"

"We have an anonymous benefactor. Woke up and found these at the foot of my bed." Neville pointed to heaps of fabric spilling out of a trunk on the side table. "Thought at first it was you. But you would have said something by now. Or at least told me to expect it so I didn't have to cast so many spells to see if they were cursed. Not that casting all those spells did me any good." Neville chuckled.

Neville was talking so fast that I was having trouble following. "Found what at the foot of your bed? And why didn't casting spells work?"

"See for yourself, they can't be cursed. Well, maybe by really strong dark magic. But nothing I have cast at them has any affect." He motioned towards the items inviting me to inspect them.

I pulled of all things a hat out of the trunk. It looked familiar but I could not place it until I saw the label "WWW".

These came from Fred and George's shop!

"These are shield hats and cloaks! Fred and George make them. The Ministry even ordered a huge lot of them. But how did they get here?" I was confused.

"Well, don't rightly know" Neville sais scratching his head "Like I was saying, they just appeared at the foot of my bed. And yeah, seeing the label is what made me think of you, but I figured you would have said something."

I nodded "These didn't come from me. I couldn't very well ask Fred and George for a bunch. They would ship me home for deciding to fight."

I started wondering where they could have come from. I remember the day Draco and I had seen them. A woman had come up to tell Fred and George someone was placing a large order. Draco had been gone for a few minutes.

Could Draco have sent these?


	66. Unlikely Allies

We had to figure out how to get the targeted students out, and we didn't have much time. We would need to figure out a diversion.

"Oh, if Fred and George were only here, they would know how to create a diversion." I said frowning over our plans lying on the table. "They would have set lose a swamp or…" I suddenly had an idea.

"I think I have a plan. But I am not sure if I can… I mean, he might… but…" I was stammering. I hated it when I did that, but I think sometimes faster than I can think or say anything.

"Well, what is it, Weasley… spit it out." Seamus was feeling anxious, and I couldn't blame him. We had all been up late and we still had class the next day.

"Don't push her, Seamus, it only makes stuttering worse." Neville took up for me. I wasn't really stuttering, but it was still nice of him.

"It is only that I am not sure if I can get the help and if it fails… but it won't. No, it will work. Just get the students here who need to be evacuated. Don't let them stay behind. Stun them if you have to. When we get them to Hogsmeade, we have to move fast. No one can stay there after curfew." I stood up.

"But… Alya," Dean began "it is past curfew already."

"No, it is not. The sun will be up in about forty five minutes. That should be just enough time for me to have the diversion created and for you to get the students here, who need to be evacuated."

"But where are we to evacuate them to? And most of these students haven't passed their apparition tests! How will we get them out?" Seamus asked.

"We will have to find enough older people to side apparate them. We need to get them to the end of the tunnel. Close enough to be outside of the anti-apparation charms, but we can't risk Ab by going in to the tavern. I will get the help we need then I will take the first group to Fred and George. I will see if they can get some of the other Order members to help and we will be gone with the endangered students before anyone else is awake." With a lot of luck and help I thought uneasily to myself.

"Alright, Weasley, we will go with your plan. Even though it isn't much of a plan." Seamus surprised me by saying. He was normally the staunch voice of reason.

"Just have everyone gathered and get them to the end of the tunnel." I left the room.

I went down the dark corridor that I and every other right thinking student avoided. Except Fred and George, naturally, which was why I thought of it.

"Peeves…?" I called hesitating.

"Oh, if it isn't the ickle Weasley." I heard the high pitched voice above me "The naughty little snake."

"Hello Peeves, I was wondering… if you could possibly… Well… see, I need a prank played, and Fred and George aren't here…" At the mention of my brothers' names Peeves appeared before me, looking at me speculatively.

"So… the ickle Weasley wants to get into pranking does she? Wants to be a nasty snake? Go away. I don't take orders from students." He started to float away.

"No wait… I didn't mean to give orders, I just… I know Fred and George always said you were the most fun of all of the spirits here and…" He stopped at the mention of the twins' names again.

"Those two are one nasty prank away from being poltergeists themselves." Peeves let out a high pitched laugh.

"Is.. is that possible?" He had startled me.

"NO!" he grabbed my nose "got yer conk!"

"So, do you think for their sake… you might be willing to pull a big prank?" I asked hopefully.

"Oh very well, for their sake I will do you this one time favor." Peeves slowly turned around in the air. "I will set off a big disturbance for you."

"Oh thank you Peeves! You are the very best!" I bet I was one of the few people, students or staff who had ever said that!

"Alright, run along little snake, I will avoid the seventh floor where I know all of you sneaks sneak about." I did just as he asked, I had one more place to visit, and this would be arguably much harder than convincing Peeves.

I knocked gently on the door I was standing in front of. A very surprised Argus Filch opened the door.

"Mr. Filch… may I… may I have a word?" This was a dangerous gamble. If I was wrong, I would be the next to face the cruciatus and to be transported.

"Come in, High Inquisitor." He said with a sneer showing he did not respect my position at all. I could hardly blame him, I didn't respect it myself.

He sat down at his grubby desk and glared at me.

"I need… we need… your help Mr. Filch." I had no idea how to go about this. Fortunately Filch gave me the answer himself.

"What would a bunch of Death Eaters want with a squib like me?" He asked the question with such bitterness and bile that I knew I had him.

"The death Eaters don't need you, Mr. Filch. The D.A. does. And Dumbledore was good to you, right? He didn't care that you cannot perform magic." Filch looked at me in surprise.

"Why would you come to me? What makes you think I won't turn you in to your 'friends'?" He sneered.

"The Death Eaters and the Dark Lord hate squibs as much as they hate muggles and muggleborn. You are in as much danger as anyone else if they take over." This was my only gamble. If I was wrong I would have to alter his memories. I fingered my wand.

"Yeah, but they don't mind handing me a pouch of coins for turning in your lot do they?" Would coins be enough….?

"I can pay as well, but I thought you might have a little loyalty to the school that took you in. Kept you employed. Gave you a place to live." I watched his face. He was sneering… but he also looked thoughtful and maybe even… grateful? I hoped this was the right way.

"What do you need?" He asked bitterly.

"Just… Peeves is going to cause a disturbance. I need you to not call the Bloody Baron and to have trouble fixing the problem Peeves will create." I reached into my pocket for a few gold galleons that I kept on hand for just such an occasion. You would be amazed at how easily some people bribe with a few gold coins.

I placed the coins on the table and watched as Filch's gnarled hands swpet the coins away.

"Fine, but this conversation never happened." He snapped.

I felt like a dirty sneak for what I was getting ready to do, but I really didn't feel like I had a choice. Filch was not known for his loyalty to students.

"Well… just to make sure, I am so sorry…" I cast tangle tongue and then altered his memories to forget I had cast the spell.

I shook Mr. Filch's hand. "Thank you Mr. Filch. I cannot tell you how much this will help in the fight." I was surprised to see how pleased and proud he looked.

I felt a lot better and ran to the RoR to tell the other's that I had been successful.


	67. Evacuations

Back in the RoR I was not surprised to see how quickly the D.A. had assembled.

They had the twenty students, some from each house, even a few from Slytherin whose parents had refused to take sides, were crowded into the room. Those who had not seen the room before looked impressed.

"Why can't we just stay here?" One girl, Susan Bones I think was her name, asked. "We could help. We can fight."

I was so impressed with how many of them nodded. "I know you would like to stay and help, but you are in far more danger than the rest of us. We want to keep you safe. Your families will want you safe. That is why they are targeting you. You can do more for the cause by not getting caught so they won't have leverage against your families."

"Look, Alya, I just want out of here." It was Blaise Zabini. I hugged him, I knew he hadn't wanted any of this. He was a pureblood snob, but not a sleazy extremist.

"I will get you out, Blaise, I promise." He smiled down at me. "OK, I need to take someone with me right now, and two of you others, grab someone and let's go!"

Neville and Seamus each took someone, Neville took Hannah Abbot, Seamus took Susan and I grabbed Blaise. We ran down the tunnel. As soon as we got to the end of the tunnel, I turned to Blaise "I can't apparate, I have the trace, you will have to do it for me. Side apparate us to Weasley Wizard Wheezes and I will take it from there."

Blaise nodded and took my arm. Neville and Seamus grabbed their companions and we apparated out right in to the shop. An alarm went off and Fred and George came running downstairs. I had not expected them to be staying in Hogsmeade, I knew they had their apartments above their main shop in Diagon Alley.

Fred held his wand out "Alya… is that you and… who? What?"

"Oh, quite eloquent, Fed." George grinned. "Can't you see our little sister is leading a rebellion?"

"I am…"I panted from the run, I was not some in shape Quidditch player! "not leading. Neville leads I just… Oh stop talking! I need your help!"

Blaise nodded at me and gave me a quick side hug "I can take it from here, Weasley. Thanks."

I hugged him back. "I will see you again, Blaise, stay safe."

Seamus and Neville left their charges while I explained to Fred and George what was going on.

"Alright, little sister, you stay here, Fred and I will go help with the evacuations." George hugged me good bye.

"WAIT! You won't know where to go… how to get there…" Fred shook his head and laughed.

"How little you know us sister dear. We wrote the book on escaping Hogwarts." I gaped at George who had supplied this.

"The book but not the map. Take your friends upstairs and get them some tea." Fred hugged me as well.

I led Susan and Hannah upstairs and put tea on. The apartments were a lot bigger than I expected them to be, and each twin had their own separate quarters.

Susan and Hannah and I had never really spoken and it was a little awkward at first. I had quite a reputation at school after all.

"Why are you doing this, Alya?" asked Hannah "I mean no offense, but don't you work for the other side?"

Susan hadn't said anything but I could tell she was just as interested in my answer.

"I… never really worked for the other side. I just wanted to protect Draco. But after awhile, it became about more. I…" I really didn't know how to convince them.

"You became a double agent?" Susan looked surprised.

"Something like that. I just… I didn't come to school to torture people. I just wanted to get an education. Make some friends. Stop feeling like…" I was embarrassed.

Hannah smiled at me, "It is OK, you don't have to explain any more. I am just glad you are on our side. Thank you for helping us."

"Yes, thank you." Susan said a little uncomfortably "I am sorry we misjudged you."

"Well, as a double agent, misjudging me was the entire point." I smiled "No hard feelings."

"I hadn't realized Slytherin's could be so nice!" Hannah blurted out.

"Oh, don't go thinking we are all poor misjudged souls. There are some truly awful people in my House. But I have learned the same can be said for all houses." I poured more tea to occupy myself.

I held the same conversation or some variation of it with the other students who showed up. Now that they were not in mortal peril they were all curious about why the High Inquisitor, known for torturing students, was helping them escape.

It took about two hours, and I was getting nervous, but soon, everyone was in the apartments.

"Alright, sister, we will take it from here." George said, looking exhausted from all of the side apparating he had performed.

"Don't get caught. Stay safe." Fred kissed my forehead.

Neville apparated me back and he, Seamus and I collapsed on a couch.

"I have to get to class, and so do you, Seamus." I said standing, I slugged down a pepper up potion which helped immensely. These days I couldn't function without one.

"Not me, Weasley, I think I have reached the limit of what formal education can do for me this year." I started to protest, but he was probably right.

For me it wasn't a choice.

I left the RoR and was surprised to see Draco leaning against the wall with his arms crossed waiting for me.

"Oh... I…. Draco… how are you?" Brilliant, I went to Fred's school of eloquent speaking apparently.

"Really?" Was all he said.

"OK, I can explain." I searched my brain for anything that would pass as an explanation.

"This I have to hear." He took my arm in his and let me lean on him as he led me back to the dungeons.

"OK, perhaps saying I could explain was a bit premature…" I looked at my shoes.

"You don't say? Let me take a stab at it. You never stopped working as a spy. You have been sneaking people out of the school. You have only been pretending to work for the Carrow's. How does that sound as a start?" He wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Yeah... well… start middle and end… there really isn't much else to it. I guess Blaise told you?" I leaned on him, glad he wasn't shouting.

"Of course he did!" He sighed and took me back to the dungeons.


	68. Harry Returns

I couldn't take the pressures any more. I was falling apart at the seams and I had developed one hell of an addiction to the pepper up potions. I was taking five or six a day. The recommend dosage was two or three a WEEK at most.

Dean had started up a small broadcasting system so that the D.A. could get frequent updates. That was how we found out about Harry, Ron and Hermione sneaking in to Gringotts and breaking out on a dragon. Terry Boots was beaten badly for shouting about it in the Great Hall.

The RoR was filling up quickly. There were probably thirty students living in there now.

Neville had been caught and had cheekily asked the Carrow's how much muggle blood they had in them. They had carved him up pretty badly and I was in the room patching him and others back up.

One day as we were sitting around, the normally empty portrait of Arianna that had been hung up so we could stay in communication with Aberforth, suddenly had Arianna smiling down and motioning for Neville.

We were all expecting Neville to return with food. Things had been lean for the students living in there. When Neville returned we were surprised to see that he had people with him.

It was Harry, Ron and Hermione! I nodded to Seamus who started activating the D.A. galleons to call the army. I ran to hug Ron.

"Now, there is a proper greeting for a brother!" He smiled down at me.

"Oh Ron, I have been so worried I…" he hugged me tighter.

The others were asking Harry what the plan was. "There is no plan, we have to find something and then leave… we can't stay." Harry looked around a little stunned

Harry was shouted down. There was no way that was going to happen!

I looked at Harry "We are fighting with or without you Potter. Better let us help so you can maintain some control. Not that it matters." I looked to Neville.

"Right. We have kept this going. Everyone here, we are Dumbledore's Army. We are loyal to him. To you. Everyone here has already been fighting." Harry seemed surprised by how many people turned to Neville at this. He had been our leader this whole year.

The door opened again, it was Fred and George and… Ginny! I ran forward to hug each of them as Harry and Neville continued to fight it out.

"Why did you call them back? This is insane!" Harry was shouting.

"I called them back to fight! We are taking back our school and throwing out the Carrow's and Snape." I cringed at Snape's name.

I stopped trying to get Ginny's attention, she only had eyes for Harry. He had finally given in and was explaining that they had come back for something, everyone decided it must be Ravenclaw's lost diadem. I was too exhausted to follow along very well. With shaking hands I pulled out a pepper up potion and slugged it back, feeling a little better almost at once.

Fred looked at me concerned. I smiled. He did not look fooled by what I thought was a very sincere smile.

I was saved from explanations by Harry collapsing to the ground. "He knows... he is coming, we have to… move!"

I knew I could be of no more use here. I needed to get to the Dungeons! I went with Harry and Luna who were going to go up to Ravenclaw's Tower. As we were ready to take our leave, I hugged Harry. "It is good to have you back." He blushed and smiled.

I ran down to the dungeons and straight up to Draco's room.

He was surprised to see me burst in on him. I took a moment to admire the fact that he was in only pajama bottoms. "Did you burst in here for some reason other than to ogle me she-weasel?" He asked amused.

Right, focus! There is a damned war on. Stop ogling the many candy!

"Alya!" he interrupted me again, amused.

"Right, Harry is back and the Dark Lord is coming and… and we have to fight!" I finished panting.

Draco froze. "No, we don't have to do anything. I have to wait for my parents and get them out of here. You have to leave right now!" He sounded panicked.

"Draco Malfoy, if you think I am abandoning you now, you have lost your mind. Everything I have done… I did it all for you. I talked to Dumbledore before… he asked how far I was willing to go to save you. If I was willing to look like a traitor to everyone I knew. It wasn't even a question. And now, I am staying. Your fate is mine. You need to choose it carefully. Are we to be light or dark?"

Draco looked at me a long time. "We need to start…" I didn't hear what he was going to say because Professor Slughorn came in to the common room and announced that we were to meet in the Great Hall. That everyone was being summoned by Headmaster Snape.

Draco took my hand "When this meeting is over, we will continue this discussion."

We marched to the Great Hall in the formation that had been demanded of us. I broke protocol by reaching out and took Draco's hand.

We waited for the Headmaster and the Carrow's but the thing is… they never showed.

Soon Professor McGonagall showed and announced that Headmaster Snape and the Carrow's were taking a break from Hogwarts. We were all surprised! I was surprised and horrified. Where was Professor Snape?

I was interrupted from my thoughts when I saw my entire family, Mum, Dad, Charlie… everyone! I hugged each one in turn. I knew this would be a fight and I wanted my family to know how much I loved them.

I was with the D.A. when Mum told me that Ginny and I would be evacuated with the other underage students.

Ginny refused and so did I! "I won't go Mum, I am staying here with Draco!"

I looked to Draco for help, but saw his jaw set. "Alya, do as your mother says and leave. I want to know you are safe."

"I am not leaving you!" I threw myself in to his arms. He stroked my hair, but I could tell he meant what he said.

"Thank you, Draco." My mother said.

"Oh NOW you two are on the same side!" I was ready to cry.

"When it comes to you we are always on the same side. We want what is best for you. We want you to be safe." Draco's tone was firm. And worse, dad was shaking his hand.

Bill came to the rescue "Mum, how about allowing Ginny and Alya to stay in the Room of Requirements? That way they will stay safe and still be on site."

Dad agreed "Very well, but both of you stay in that room. Do not poke one toe out of line."

We both nodded, but looking at Ginny I knew she had no more intentions of staying in that room than I did.

I grabbed Draco by the face and kissed him, it was rather wet as I was crying. "I love you Draco Malfoy. You come back to me. I don't care what anyone else is doing. You come back!"

"I love you as well. I am coming back. I promise." He kissed me back.

Ginny watched us and marched off.

I knew she was going to find Harry.

Good for her!


	69. Evacuating Slytherin's

Before Ginny and I left someone else burst in to the room. ""Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I — I —" It was Percy! I hesitated only a moment before flinging myself in to his arms. Mum was right behind me, crying.

To diffuse some of the tension Fleur and Professor Lupin started talking about his son Teddy. Percy started shouting that he had been a fool while hugging me and Mum. Fred and George, the best tension breakers of all called him a lousy Ministry loving prat and when he agreed they shook his hand.

We would have left then, Ginny and I, except evacuation orders were being given and I wanted to tell them all how to use the tunnel to get out. Professor McGonagall was explaining protections and how we had very little time.

Some of the others, those not in the D.A. still wanted to stay and fight. Professor McGonagall said those of age could stay and fight, making both Ginny and me throw her dirty looks.

"Alright, off with the both of…." Mum started to say when a girl started screaming. And then another. And another.

I heard a voice I had hoped to never hear again. It was the Dark Lord. And anyone who says not to call him that can piss off. Stand in his presence and then you can tell me what to call him!

"I know that you are preparing to fight." There were more screams. Ginny and I clung to each other. "Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

"Give me Harry Potter," said The Dark Lord's voice, "and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded... You have until midnight."

I saw Pansy's white terrified face. I knew what she was going to do even before she did it. She was so frightened.

"He's right there! Someone grab him!" she shouted. She wasn't looking for a reward, she just didn't want to die!

Everyone grabbed a wand and pointed it not just at Pansy, but at all of the Slytherin's. My Vipers were in there!

I stepped away from Ginny in between the two groups. With an apologetic look at my family I did the only truly brave and truly stupid thing I felt like I had ever done. I pulled my wand and pointed it at the Order and the D.A. They looked stunned.

"Stand down or kill me. The move is yours. But I am dueling to kill anyone who harms my friends." Could I have really killed a family member? Probably not, but they all needed to know I was not playing around.

I felt the Vipers come stand next to me. They also pulled their wands. The tension was broken by Filch running in to shout students were out of bed. Well, our deal was over, he had already fulfilled his end.

"They are supposed to be out of bed you blithering idiot. Now do something useful and take the Slytherin students out." Professor McGonagall said in exasperation.

"Where should I take them?" Filch asked confused.

"Try the Dungeons." She said archly to a round of applause.

I looked at them disgusted and turned to follow.

"Alya, you must go with Ginny!" Mum shouted.

"I am going with my friends. It seems that like always, we Slytherin stand up for each other because no one else will." I marched with the others to the dungeons.

"No!" Dad said, "No one meant you! Tell her, Minerva, tell her you didn't mean MY daughter."

"All of us are someone's daughter or son Dad. And I am leaving. I hope to see all of you on the other side. If not, I love you all." I left with them to stunned silence.

Filch led us to the Dungeons. Whether McGonagall had meant the Slytherin dungeons she never specified. Filch took us to the actual steel bar dungeons and locked us in.

Pansy was sobbing about how scared she was and how sorry she was. She and I were never exactly friends, but she was a sister Slytherin. I walked up and pulled her in to my arms for a hug. "We know you were just scared, Pansy. And we are not mad at you." I looked around "Right?"

Everyone agreed.

"Now what?" Frank asked.

"Now we get out of here. Now I help you all escape." I said simply.

"But how? We can't use our magic in here and what do you mean help us escape? Aren't you coming?" Pria looked terrified.

"I won't leave Draco. And you can't use YOUR magic. I can still use mine." I dropped down in to my snake form and slithered out. There were so few animagi that no one thought to stop this magic!

Once out I heard footsteps running. Three sets. I hid behind a pillar changed back and drew my wand. Friend or foe if they attacked any Slytherin I was going to show them I had not learned all of those curses for nothing!

It was Draco, Crabbe and Goyle! I stepped out and flung myself in to him almost knocking us both off of our feet. "Draco! I am so glad it is you! They locked everyone in here and I…"

He gave me that long suffering sigh I was so used to. "And you threatened to duel an entire room full of your family and friends instead of damned well hiding like I told you to?"

I nodded in to his chest.

He used his wand to unlock the cells. But wait… "Draco… what happened to your wand?" It was the first time I had seen him pull it out and it did not look like his wand.

"Really? You want to discuss wands NOW? Get these people out of here. You can use the Room of Requirement, Slytherin's or not you can't bloody well march them out the front door. Now go!" Right, focus wands are not a priority!

"OK, but…" I wanted to stay. I did not want to leave him!

"Alya Weasley, for once in your damned life, do as I say!" he was shouting at this point, but I wasn't angry. I knew that like Pansy he was just afraid.

"You remember your promise, Draco Malfoy! You come back to me. You promised and I am holding you to it. You cut and run if you need to but don't you get killed!" I hadn't realized I was crying until his face swam before me.

"I just have to find my… Mum, and then I am leaving too" he said, but I had a feeling he was going to say something else before he stopped himself.

"And your Dad! Don't leave your Dad here!" I grabbed his lapels.

He sighed again "You and this love affair with my father. He isn't perfect, you know!"

"You want to discuss parental flaws NOW?" I mimicked what he had said earlier.

"Now she listens to me." He rolled his eyes at his friends who were busy helping the Slytherin students out.

I kissed him, but I knew I had no intentions of leaving him alone here. And thankfully he had not made me promise I would!

Get my friends out and then find him were all I could think about.

Get them out and get back to Draco.


	70. Fiendfyre

We ran to the seventh floor and into the RoR.

After opening the tunnel I ushered everyone in, surprised to see Tonks and an elderly woman rush past me.

I frowned as they kept running out. "Get down to the end. The door opens in to the Hogs Head Inn. You can apparate away from there!" I shouted this at the last of the students as I closed the tunnel and ran out of the room. With no one in there the tunnel wouldn't open back up. They were safe.

I could hear footsteps running and dropped down to a snake and hid. Once again those footsteps belonged to Draco, Crabbe and Goyle.

I could hear them talking and I didn't like what I was hearing.

"The Dark Lord wants Potter." Crabbe was saying gleefully. "If we turn in him and his friends we will be rewarded."

"Just watch yourself Crabbe, we are not here for Potter." Draco was saying.

"We don't take orders from you, your family is finished." Crabbe sneered.

"Shut it, here come Potter, Weasley and the Mudblood." Damned it, Draco, I thought we talked about that word!

Sure enough, Harry, Ron and Hermione came running up with… big arsed snake fangs? Where did they get those? I wasn't even sure how I knew they were snake fangs, except they kind of looked like mine.

They walked back and forth until the RoR opened, but this time it was different. It was… why were they going in to the Room of Hidden Things? I grabbed a hold of Draco's cloak with my fangs and slithered up and into his hood. Hopefully he wouldn't notice my weight.

Thankfully he was too preoccupied. Draco held them back as they talked about some Ravenclaw diadem.

The trio talked about splitting up. I could hear Ron and Hermione's voices getting further away. Harry was alone. That was when Draco stood forward. Oh yeah, brave one that guy of mine. If I could have rolled my eyes as a snake I would have.

"That's my wand you're holding Potter." Draco said. Oh I could just bite him! How dare he lecture me on discussing wands at inappropriate times! He had gone back to get his during a damned war.

"Winners keepers." Harry said "Who lent you theirs?"

Were these arses really discussing WANDS?!

Who cared if Draco had borrowed his mother's wand? I wasn't even mildly curious as to how Harry ended up with Draco's wand.

Suddenly Ron and Hermione appeared and Crabbe attacked them! I needed to get out of this hood, but I could not transform without risking harm to Draco.

The BASTARD! He just cast the killing curse at my brother! I would kill him for this. I vowed if I killed just one death eater it would be Vincent Crabbe.

Suddenly they were all discussing killing Harry and Crabbe insulted Draco again and before I knew it we were climbing higher and higher and the whole damned place was on fire!

I knew what it must be from Dark Arts lessons. Fiendfyre and you have to be able to control it. And Crabbe was stupid so… so it got away and the whole damned place would burn down!

But I would still get Crabbe I vowed. As we climbed I peeked out over Draco's hood and saw that little rat bastard right behind me.

I stretched just a bit further and bit him on the hand. He screamed and fell into the fire. I couldn't believe how good it felt. My snake mind was enjoying the attack. I turned and hissed at Goyle making him scream. I could kill him too. He was too close to my mate. Get away. Get back. I am death. My snake mind screamed.

Draco looked back when Goyle screamed "SNAKE!" But the place was filled with flame snakes and dragons so he did not realize that he was carrying me still.

We would die, but I got that bastard just like I said I would. I curled back up against Draco. At least we would go together, even if he didn't know it.

I was surprised to feel myself flung back, but not continue to fall. Peeking out I saw that of all things, Harry Potter had saved us. But now he was going back!

No! Away, get away! My animal brain was screaming.

He grabbed at something that fell away into the fire and dissolved. Good! Could we go now?

And we did! We went away from the fire and out the doors. I could breathe again. Draco fell off the broom and I rolled away.

Goyle was unconscious. Draco was disarmed. But I wasn't worried. If Harry wanted him dead he wouldn't have saved him. They slumped Draco over next to Goyle.

I wasn't finished. I stood up in my human form. Normally this brings back almost instant clarity. The fight or flight is gone. The need to attack, to kill.

But that is normally. Now I was exhausted and running on potions. I had nearly watched myself and my fiancé (mate my mind screamed) die. I was having trouble coming back.

"Crabbe?" asked Draco.

"Dead." Harry informed him. Harry and Ron started to talk about a wrecked thing in his hand. How if it weren't for the fact that he tried to kill them, Ron would be sad Crabbe was dead.

"I am not." I said stepping from the shadows. "I bit him and made him fall. I killed him. I am glad he is dead. Saves me the trouble of killing him now."

I snarled down at Goyle who was just waking up. And he was waking up to find my wand at his throat. His eyes grew wide. "SNAKE!" he screamed again.

Draco suddenly seemed to rouse himself. He looked slowly from Goyle to me. "Aly… love, don't…" he all but whispered.

"Why? They would have seen my brother dead. Crabbe attacked him with a killing curse. Why shouldn't I kill him?" Ron was so startled to see me he seemed to have lost the ability to speak. I knew Harry and Hermione had turned their wands on me a little unsure.

Draco stood up and walked slowly towards me. The way one might approach a dangerous animal.

Which I guess was exactly what I was in that moment.

"Aly… you can't kill him in cold blood because you would never forgive yourself." Ron was nodding his head vigorously.

"You are right, but I can do… this… CRUCIO!" I screamed. And then screamed again as the force of my own cruciatus hit me back.

Draco grabbed me while Harry went for my wand. "A Wand of Loyalty. Cursed." Hermione said. If you turned it on any Death Eater it would do the damage to you instead. It works brilliantly if you are loyal… if you are not, lethal, since most Death Eaters curse to kill. Ingenious really."

I glared at her. Having it explained to me WHY a monster had given me a cursed wand and broken mine was not at all helpful. Know it all swot.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

Goyle got up and ran. Good choice, my control was a thin line tethered only to Draco Malfoy. I bet that thought would terrify a lot of people. I laughed half hysterically.

I let Draco comfort me.


	71. Battle of Hogwarts Part I

**If you do not like my OC's that is your prerogative. I happen to like James Gamp, and just because you think I ruined a great story by having Alya date him briefly does not mean I am changing my story. There are hundreds of thousands of FanFic stories, find one you do like. This is continuing to be posted on this site for those who do enjoy it.**

"We need to go." Whispered Draco. "We have a battle to fight."

"We?" I looked into his eyes. So gray. So beautiful. They caught me off guard every time.

"Yeah, well, every time I leave you alone you go and do something stupid. I better keep you with me to keep you out of trouble." He smiled down at me. When he did that I felt like the only girl in the world.

"Yeah… Draco Malfoy keeping someone out of trouble. There's a switch." Ron said, actually sounding teasing. I sill glared at him for ruining our moment.

I held both of Draco's hands in mine. "Your fate is mine. Light or dark?"

He kissed my forehead "Ours."

I hugged Ron, Harry and Hermione. "See you three on the other side, yeah?"

Harry, Ron and Hermione took their leave. They went one way, we went another.

I stopped when I saw one of the Order lying dead on the ground. I didn't remember his name. I closed his eyes and took his wand. "Thank you, I will kill as many Death Eaters as I can with this." I whispered to him.

"OK, my parents will be somewhere in this mess, we need to find them. And then we get out." I knew better than to test Draco's patience again.

We manned the Astronomy Tower, prepared to curse anyone who got near us.

"As soon as we see my parents we get down there." He smiled at me.

"You are enjoying this! You are such… a guy!" I couldn't help but laugh.

It was about an hour, but the Death Eater army finally burst through. We did not see Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. We threw curse after curse but we knew we were going to have to go down there.

We fought our way downstairs when we saw Fred and Percy fighting. Percy was cracking some stupid joke telling the Minister he quit. Fred was laughing at him for it. Harry and Ron and Hermione were fighting a little ways away.

None of them saw that the Death Eater who was standing just outside the wall was going to collapse it on them!

I had one chance. I drew the wand from the Order member I had taken with me and cast a shield charm over them.

And then the world exploded in pain and fear. And then darkness. Before I passed out I thought oh Merlin, let it have worked.

I have no idea how long it was later, but I could hear someone digging. I was trapped good and well. And my shoulder was on fire! If it was broken… I don't know how I would keep fighting. Funny the things we think about when we are afraid we are going to die soon. I was thinking about that hideous pink scarf Hermione used to wear. I thought about how if my shoulder is broken I could use it to cradle my arm and fight with my other.

Two hands reached in and grabbed me and hauled me up. One was Draco and the other was Fred!(*)

"Hey there, sis!" Fred was smiling down at me. "You really are brilliant, you know. If you had not cast that shield charm when you did that whole bloody wall would have collapsed on me. I don't know if even I could survive that!"

I hugged him and Percy before taking off with Draco to continue the fight and searching for his parents. Mum and Dad saw me, but what were they going to do? "RoR was burned down." I shouted as we ran past.

No matter who we asked or where we searched it became clear. The older Malfoys were not here.

"They must be with _him_." Draco said bitterly.

We were still running and fighting when we saw Harry again. He was collapsed against some debris with Ron and Hermione next to him. Harry was clasping his forehead and moaning "The Shrieking Shack. He just sent Lucius Malfoy to go get him!"

Draco and I looked at each other and ran. We at least knew where Mr. Malfoy was, or would be soon. And with Professor Snape!

As we were running we were cornered by Death Eaters. Draco did the only thing he could think of "Stop! I am Draco! Draco Malfoy! I am on your side!" It didn't matter. He had been seen dueling Death Eaters. They attacked.

Curses came out of nowhere and blasted the Death Eaters "That is the second time we saved your life you two-faced bastard!" Shouted Ron. I glared down at him "Not you Alya, your boyfriend!"

I took Draco's hand "FIANCE!" I shouted back at him.

We continued running until Draco could apparate us to the Shrieking Shack.

"Hide." He instructed me.

We hid under a bed. It wasn't much but it would have to do.

I could barely hear what was happening, Draco had shoved me so far back and behind him. But I could hear Professor Snape and the Dark Lord and something about a wand. We did not hear Mr. Malfoy. And then I could hear some sort of… strike. Over and over again. It sounded wet and awful and… deadly.

As soon as we could feel the Dark Lord leave we crawled out from under the bed. I was only peripherally aware that Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the room with us. I ran to Professor Snape.

He had been savaged. I knew it was a snake attack I was looking at. I knew we didn't have much time, but I could buy us a little. I used a healing spell to give him a few more minutes. I just… I wanted him to know he wouldn't die alone.

I took his hand and he looked at me. I got the first genuine smile I had ever seen from him "I am so… proud of you. Everything you have done, acting as a double agent… everything you learned. You are truly one of my greatest creations. And you are correct Alya. If I had not been your Professor and Mentor, we would have been friends."

I buried my face into his robes while I wept. Harry was speaking to him but I wasn't paying attention. Professor Snape was stroking my hair much like a father would.

Then his hand stopped. I could feel him getting cooler beneath my cheek. Harry whispered to me "There is nothing you can do for him now. Snape, he would want you to stay here… to stay safe. I don't think _he_ will come back…"

"I am going back, Harry. I… I have to." I looked up at Draco.

Draco nodded and took my hand.

We heard the voice of the Dark Lord again, I jumped, certain he was in the very room with us.

"You have fought," said the high, cold voice, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately."

The five of us looked at each other with dread.

"You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured. I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

I watched Harry's face as his best friends tried to dissuade him, I knew they would not be able to.

"I… have to go to Dumbledore's office… to watch these." He held up a vial. I knew it contained memories. Professor Snape's?

"May I… if they are not too secret…" I motioned towards the vial.

Harry nodded and smiled at me kindly. "They will be in the Headmaster's office."

We made our way back, stopping to fight only when we didn't have a choice. There were very few instances when we were forced to. It was as if all of the Death Eaters had gone. I knew they were here somewhere, but… where? And why? Did he really think Harry would show? After thinking about the look on Harry's face, I knew that was exactly what the Dark Lord expected.

Harry was under his cloak and moved away from us. I knew he was trying to protect us if he could.

When we got back we walked through the halls seeing the dead and injured. I saw Tonks and Professor Luin. My family had surrounded them.

Mum grabbed me in a crushing hug and cried. "Fred told us what you did, he doesn't think he would be here without you."

I knew she was probably right, but all I said was "Oh, Fred is really good, he would have found a way. Or Percy would have. I just got there first. But Percy was already protecting him."

Percy hugged me tight for saying so. "I am so glad you are back, Perce." I said into his shoulder. "I missed you so much."

I hadn't forgotten he was the only one who briefly broke me from my stupor after the death of Professor Dumbledore. I mean, it was to tell him off for making Mum cry, but still.

 **(*) Yeah sue me. I rewrote this three times and I am NOT killing Fred off!**


	72. Battle of Hogwarts Part II

Harry went upstairs. It was the last time I would see him until the battle was over. I sat with Draco, close to my family, but far enough away not to make it awkward.

He pulled my head against his shoulder and stroked my hair. "Alya… if the Dark Lord wins… I want you to leave me, Leave this country. Take your family and get far away."

I hushed him with a kiss. "We have our entire lives to talk nonsense, Draco. Right now, just hold me."

For once he listened to me.

Time is a funny thing, it felt as though we had sat there for hours, but I knew it could not have been. The Dark Lord had given us one hour.

We soon enough heard that horrid magnified voice again "Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone."

We all jumped and ran outside as his voice continued.

"The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."

What we saw was horrifying. Hagrid was carrying Harry's body in his arms. Ginny screamed and ran forward but was stopped by someone. Professor McGonagall the scream of "NO!" torn from her throat was heart wrenching. My ears were ringing. I needed my pepper up potions, but there were none to be had. I could barely hear anything else that was said.

Suddenly Neville ran forward to attack. He was stunned, but still defiant. He told Voldemort he would join him when hell froze over. Then he shouted "DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY!" and as one we repeated his cry. All of us stepping forward.

I could see the Malfoy's, they looked haggard. Draco wanted to run to them but Mrs. Malfoy's gentle shake of her head "no" held him in place.

Time kept leaping and stalling in odd places. I knew I was in full withdrawal. One moment we were being defiant. Then suddenly Voldemort was holding the Sorting Hat telling us everyone would be Slytherin.

Then time jumped again and Neville was on fire! I knew I was hallucinating by this point because as soon as Neville caught fire, Harry jumped from Hagrid's arms.

People started running from the castle giving battle cries. Draco still held me, he was shaking me "Alya? ALYA!" I was in a fog. I knew even if I got my potions I would not come back for hours. This was to be the end of me. I could no longer fight. I could no longer move on my own.

I heard someone screaming Draco's name, and suddenly I was scooped up and someone was running with me. I thought it was Draco, but the hair, while the right color, was too long.

"Take care of her, father." Draco sounded so far away. I was pulled behind a pillar and someone was sitting with me on their lap.

I looked up in to the relieved face of Mr. Malfoy!

I said the only thing I could think of. "Mr. Malfoy, you need a shave."

He looked down at me surprised and then started laughing "And you, impertinent creature, need a bath. I think you have earned the right after all of these years to call me Lucius, don't you?"

I nodded and snuggled in to his arms. He wasn't my Dad, but he was taking care of me like a father would. I could hear Draco and Mrs. Malfoy shouting curses. It sounded like they were fighting side by side. But my brain was too foggy to figure it all out.

I knew I was hallucinating when I hear Mum shout the word "bitch" my mother did not use that sort of language!

It seemed like hours and only seconds at the same time, when the fighting grew almost silent. I could hear Harry and the Dark Lord. It sounded as though they were debating who would win in a fight. Or maybe it was someone else.

Mr. Malfoy… Lucius, carried me from our hiding place. I was surprised to see Voldemort and Harry facing off as if to duel. Merlin, if that was all it took why had there been so much fighting and bloodshed?!

We watched Harry and the Dark Lord circling one another. Harry was telling him, telling them all! That Professor Snape was not loyal to… Voldemort! There, I thought his name! If Professor Snape could be brave, so could I!

Then harry was calling Voldemort Tom, and telling him he should try for some remorse for what he had. Harry was telling him to prepare himself to die.

I could see my father across the way. He looked in confusion at the gentle way Lucius Malfoy was holding me and shielding me. I smiled at him and was glad to get a smile in return.

Harry was talking about owning a wand. What was it with these boys and the need to fight over stupid wands when there was a war going on?!

Then he was saying Draco owned the wand?

Voldemort's wand?

I realized he had never told me what happened to his own wand. I guess I knew now, he and Harry had been at it again.

But no Harry had disarmed Draco and now Harry owned the wand? It was all too confusing for me. I lay my head back on Lucius chest.

Just then, as the sun came up, casting a gold red over everything Harry and Voldemort raised their wands. Each with his own look of defiance, hate and determination prepared for the end.

They shouted at the same time:

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

And the wand flew from Voldemort's hand to Harry's. I would never tell them they had been right to argue over wands there would be no living with them!

And then… it was over.

We all watched as Voldemort's body crumbled to ash and blew away.

We watched as the remaining Death eaters tried to run but were set upon by the D.A. The fighting was minimal. They had just watched the monster who led them be murdered by a teenage boy after all.

The aurors started rounding up all of the living Death Eaters. When they came for Lucius I cried and clung to him. He told me to shush and comforted me as he handed me to my father.

And NO! They were taking away Draco and Mrs. Malfoy as well?

I screamed for Draco.

I screamed until my voice was hoarse from it.

I screamed until I blacked out and knew no more. I had reached the end of my endurance.

If this was death I could have borne it. It wasn't so bad after all.

I was at peace. Except for Draco and his parents. They were my last thought as the darkness over took me.


	73. Loss

I learned much later what had happened after the battles.

Draco and his parents had been taken to the Ministry holding cells to await trials. I would have been there as well for my part as the good little Death eater, except I was hospitalized.

The Vipers, my friends, those who had sustained me and loved me through it all had sustained a loss.

James Gamp. My first boyfriend and the Watson to my Sherlock had been killed when he collapsed the tunnel to keep everyone else safe and to keep the Death Eaters from coming in that way.

The rest of the Vipers came to give me the news. The Gamp family would have him entombed in their family vault.

Frank was devastated. He and Esme were now an official thing and she held him as he wept telling me about how they had found his body later.

The loss hit me hard. No one would ever call me Sherly again. No one would ever again be my sounding board for all of the adventures in to sleuthing that I had wanted to take.

Little Teddy, the Lupin's son was now an orphan. Narcissa's sister Andromeda, his maternal grandmother would be taking on the role of raising him.

At my request, as the closest thing to family he still had, Professor Snape was buried on the Hogwarts grounds. If Harry had not absolved him I doubt that would have been allowed.

George would never be whole again (although he was holey as he was quick to point out, ever the jokester my brother).

Ollivander would return to work only long enough to help Camille and her father become established as wand makers.

In the hospital I received a very welcome, but very unusual visitor.

An elderly man, but still quite fit entered with a large bouquet of roses. "Oh, I am very sorry, I am looking for Alya Weasley's room." He started to leave.

"Wait… I am Alya Weasley." He turned back towards me.

With a smile he asked "Were you named after a relative, perhaps? A Professor at Hogwarts who was injured in the Battle?"

I was confused at first but finally it dawned on me who this must be "Mr. Spudmore?"

He looked at me in surprise "Ah, she has spoken of me then?"

"No… Mr. Spudmore, it is me, Alya! I am the one who has been investing in your company from groves to brooms."

He sat down hard "That… but how? You must have been thirteen when you started!"

"Twelve, actually, although I had wanted to since I was eleven and read your article about how hazels were the best in your opinion for broom speed and stability." I quoted a few things from the article since he did not seem convinced.

"You… it is you! How…? I mean, how does such a young girl come up with the capital to invest?" He looked flummoxed. As though I had whacked him between the eyes with one of his very expensive brooms.

I told him all about my capital raising programs, and getting a financial advisor and the small stocks I had started out with and growing them. He looked amazed the entire time I was talking.

We discussed the fears both of us had at the time about goblin rebellions and forest fires wiping us out.

I told him about accidentally becoming a Quidditch expert even though I had never really cared for the game.

By the time he left we had become fast friends promising to stay in touch.

I spent my seventeenth birthday in that hospital room. My family came to visit. So did Harry and Hermione.

Harry handed me professor Snape's memories. "When you are ready." He said.

I wasn't sure when or if that would ever happen, but it felt nice to have a piece of him.

I slowly and painfully recovered from my addiction. Mum and dad needed to hear the whole story twice because Mum cried so much during my first telling that I had to do it again.

Grandmama came to see me. We had been parted since the beginning of the year. I loved her visit because she did not come in and weep over me and tell me how brave I had been.

Quite the opposite.

"You were very foolish Alya Cedrella Elladora Alexia Weasley. You have a vault full of galleons and instead of delegating and hiring out, you decided to do every bit of it yourself and damaged yourself in the process. I am very disappointed in you. If you are ever going to be a successful business woman and member of society you must learn to manage your funds better than this." I was surprised and shocked at first but then I practically leapt from the bed to hug her.

All of the weeping and babying me had got on my nerves, even if I didn't know it. What I had needed was a good dose of Grandmama's no non sense style. She didn't even let me hug her for very long.

Her grouchy manner, of course, just made me hug her again, with much harrumphing on her part.

I had originally thought the Auror and Ministry people were coming to pay their respects and wish me well.

I thought that for all of five minutes.

Then I sent an owl to the Supreme Mugwump who hired a barrister to get them all off of my back.

I would answer every question everyone had, but not while I was recuperating in the hospital!

I really wished I could have Draco here with me. Unlike Azkaban, the people here were hard to bribe to get messages in and out. The one time I tried it since I never got a response I was pretty certain that he had just stole my money.

The school Professors and even Hagrid came to visit me.

I don't know why everyone complains about Hagrid's rock cakes. If you soak them in tea and milk for an hour or so they are quite palatable!

Professor McGonagall came to check on my animagus form to make certain I had sustained no permanent damage in my abilities.

Professor Slughorn came in to make certain his house's Queen was doing alright.

Even Marcus Flint came to see me! I couldn't see why Harry kept insisting he must have troll blood.

OK, maybe I could but it still wasn't very nice to say!

All of my Slytherin Quidditch boys came to see me, in fact. They brought me my very own Slytherin Quidditch robes. Except where there should have been a number they had it designed with the lemniscates symbol. It meant "forever". I cried for a long time after they left!

I knew there would be a lot of questions once I was out of the hospital.

I was also brought the news of the Malfoy trial. They were to be tried all at the same time.

I was determined to be there for that trial.


	74. Interlude After the War Years

"Or," I said looking around at the entire Wizengamot, assorted reporters and the Mafoys, including Draco, chained in chairs front and center "Should I say this trial?"

I had been testifying for five days straight. Taking time out only to nap and to eat.

My trial, and yes, I was absolutely put on trial, was very short. I had been tried as a war criminal. For torturing students on the order of the Carrow's and acting as their High Inquisitor.

When student after came forward to tell how I had not really ever tortured anyone, that I had only pretended to keep them safe, and when the members of the D.A. stepped forward to tell them how I had rescued people and got everyone out safely that I could, I was found innocent just a few hours after the final testimony. It would have been sooner, except they kept having to turn away others who wanted to testify on my behalf.

It was not the same for the Malfoys. They had me of course. My estimony had come last.

It surprised me that Harry, Ron and Hermione had testified for them.

But it floored me when my father took the stand for Draco. I finally learned what had been in that packet he gave me. It had been two way papers that Draco had been feeding information to the Order through!

But I was the griffin and bear show they had all come to see. The Slytherin fiancé of a notorious Death Eater. Never mind that he had been forced to it.

"Miss Weasley, you are aware that Mr. Lucius Malfoy has been before this court three times now on charges that include attempting to kill members of your family and your so-called Dumbledore's Army?" One of the officials asked me.

"I am aware that one time this court found him to be operating under the imperius curse. Certainly this court does not intend to claim it made a mistake?" Where had this Gryffindor streak come from?

"I am further aware, as you may recall from my testimony, that the psychopath who named himself Lord Voldemort was living in his home during the second incident. How well might you have fared under the same circumstances."

The official who had spoken glared at me, but did not respond. He wanted to shut me up, I knew, but I had been given leeway to give my testimony my way, considering my "fragile state of being".

If you call spending several weeks in the hospital voiding my bowels and vomiting as I suffered from withdrawal a fragile state of being, then yes, that was absolutely me.

"And in this incident, the Malfoy's all showed their true loyalty when Mr. Lucius Malfoy defended me when I was too weak to defend myself and Mr. Draco Malfoy and Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy took up wands against Death Eaters in defense of innocent students."

"Did it occur to you at that time, or any time after, that the Malfoy's could be doing this out of fear for their own lives?" What a stupid question.

"Of COURSE they did it out of fear for their lives. Isn't that the point? I may not know an awful lot about Lucius Malfoy as a Death Eater, but there are things I do know. I know he loves his wife and son. I know he drives Draco to do better. That is what a parent is supposed to do. I know he is a brilliant businessman. I have followed him in the financial papers since I was old enough to read. Does he have extreme views on what makes someone a good witch or wizard? I doubt even he would deny it. I believe the point of the trial is not to determine what his well publicized beliefs are, but whether or not the actions of the Malfoys. Over the course of the war can be mitigated by their actions taken at the end of the war. As their actions during the war were driven by having Voldemort living inside their home" I still loved the way people cringed when I said that. I would throw in Dark lord if I thought I wouldn't get a cell next to Draco in Azkaban. AH HA! There is that Slytherin side, lost it there for a moment. "It is my opinion that they do."

One officious little arse sneered at me "We are not here for your opinions Miss Weasley."

"Oh? Then I don't know what in the name of Salazar Slytherin I am doing here still. I gave you five days worth of testimony. All I, or anyone in this room, have are opinions. None of you were in that house. I was. It was terrifying. And if you were there and have something factual to add, why aren't YOU on trial?"

The reporters ate that up. By the next day Rita Skeeter would write that I had suggested putting the entire Wizengamot on trial. Not a bad idea, actually after the bullshit they were putting me through.

After order had been restored, as if there were any order in this trial besides which witness would testify first, I was dismissed. Inspite of instructions not to have any communication with the defendants, I mouthed "I love you" to Draco on my way past him.

It took three days of deliberating before the Wizengamot was ready to sit and pass judgment. I had been cocky up on that stand, but now I was terrified. Had I done enough? Had I spoken enough? Maybe I should have added that Draco shielded me with his own body during the fiendfyre incident? I mean… OK, he was doing it unknowingly, because I was a snake, but still…

I paced back and forth waiting to be called. All of my family was here. So were Harry, Ron and Hermione. My stomach was in knots. My hands shook. If I hadn't just spent several weeks in the hospital I would have taken a dose of pepper up… just to take the edge off.

Not that I was going to do it!

We were finally called in. I almost threw up on my shoes.

They had decided to call Draco forward first.

"Mr. Malfoy, due to your tender years" Oh please Draco, don't snarl at that! "and your assistance to the fight against Lord Voldemort, we have determined that you are not culpable in any wrong doing. You are free to go with stipulations. You are required to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy to sit for your N.E.W.T.s. Should you refuse to do so, or fail to get acceptable marks you will be sentenced to six months in Azkaban prison for your use of the Imperius curse against Miss Katie Bell and attempted assaults on then Headmaster Dumbledore."

I was the only one who applauded, but I didn't care. As soon as the chains were off I threw myself in to his arms. I didn't care that he looked and smelled like he had spent the last two months in a jail cell.

Narcissa was next. In light of her lying to Voldemort to protect Harry and being instrumental in his defeat of she was sentenced to one year of house arrest.

If I was the griffin and bear show, Mr. Malfoy… Lucius, was the dragon mating. The place filled up quickly and the reporters and photographers were all waiting to see what the Azkaban escapee would receive.

"In light of your defense of innocent students, the Wizengamot sentences you to three years house arrest, and you are to turn over a sum of property and gold to be determined after the full cost of the war has been assessed."

And that was it. The Malfoy's were apparated to their summer home, Malfoy Manor was still under the control of the Ministry until it could be determined that it was safe to occupy. And that none of those occupants would have access to any dark artifacts I was sure.

Draco went home with his parents to shower and change and get some much needed rest. We would be meeting in Diagon Alley to pick up our school supplies. If he was returning then so was I!

This practically made him saint like in my Mum's eyes since before this I had refused to go back on grounds that I didn't have any career path that required me to sit my N.E.W.T.s


	75. Prelude to Part III After the War Years

Draco and I were not apart for long. It was as if after everything we had gone through together we could not stand to be physically separated.

I had no interest in returning to the Burrow where I would be reminded of loss and pain. That tree house may seem like a stupid thing to mourn, but it had been mine and that bitch burned it down!

I took a small flat in Diagon Alley not far from my brothers' joke shop. This was so Mum would feel like someone was watching out for me. Honestly, with the way those two carry on it should be me watching over them.

Draco absolutely did not live with me. I mean, sure he had a few things at my place. And sure, when I woke up he was there and when I went to bed he was there. And his house elf once complained she could not find any of his socks to wash because he had taken them all to my home.

And yes, his owl delivered his paper to him at my home, but owls are smart that way, they can pretty much find you where ever you happen to be.

I mean, if you are going to go on such flimsy evidence to suggest Draco and I were living together, you are really digging deep.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

And if any of you suggest to my mother that I was living without benefit of marriage with Draco I will call you liars right to your faces!

And if you say so to Mrs. Malfoy I will crucio you to within an inch of your lives!

Lucius was much more open minded about these things. I was surprised one day to wake up and find him on my front stoop. He had a house elf with him who hard an arm load of what looked like laundry.

"Since you seem to be storing Draco's dirty laundry at your home we thought" he motioned to the small elf beside him "that you may wish to store a few more items. And a house elf to clean them."

I laughed and hugged him and invited him in to tea. Draco was just getting up and snarled at Lucius "Very funny father."

Draco Malfoy, not a morning person. Who could have guessed? I rolled my eyes at him.

"I have always considered myself to be so. In fact I once considered writing an amusement column for Witch Weekly 'Snarky Things My Porky-Mouthed Son Says to me in the morning." He sipped his tea and looked at Draco with a raised eyebrow.

"That was a joke, Draco, you are allowed to laugh." I said kissing him on the cheek.

"Laughter does not occur in this house before breakfast and strong tea."He glared at both of us. Clearly Lucius and I were suspect for being cheerful morning people.

Teeka, his house elf, bustled about in the kitchen making us breakfast in spite of my protests. I gave in when I smelled bacon. I am a weak, weak witch.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, father?" Draco took his tea and bacon sandwich from the little elf with a nod and poured almost as much honey and milk in it as there was tea.

Good thing he kept in shape with Quidditch. He glared at my censuring look, daring me to comment. I just shrugged and drank my black tea and ate my toast. There were some things one did not argue about with Draco, and his legendary sweet tooth was chief among them.

"We may need to make some changes to our estates. We do not know yet how much the ministry intends to fine us but with the current state of affairs, we may assume it is a substantial amount." He also took his tea overly honeyed and with a lot of milk.

Children. I am surrounded by children.

"What sort of changes did you have in mind, father?" Draco asked, somewhat suspiciously.

So much formality in the morning cannot be good for digestion, I thought, but wisely kept my mouth shut. As soon as Lucius left I planned to take full advantage of definitely not living with my fiancé.

"With your lovely bride to be in a strong financial position with the Spudmore Firebolt company, it may be time for you two to consolidate your holdings." He looked at me expectantly.

I thought about it for a long time. He hadn't really helped me to gain financial success in this eventuality… had he?

Of course he had. I rolled my eyes. "Ugggh, Slythrin!" I pointed at him.

He smiled at me with that almost wicked smirk that I love so much in his son. "Guilty as charged Madame."

"Let's say Alya even agrees, which we both know she will since she is still your biggest fan," I rolled my eyes but when it came to financial acumen I could not disagree "won't the Ministry just come after her holdings?"

"They have no grounds to do so. Her holdings have grown quite substantial on their own. There is no undue enrichment on her part. As her fiancé you have the legal right now that you are of age to handle her financial affairs, you will merely be coming in to your inheritance early as a wedding gift. There is nothing unusual about it. You will need the means to support your family. I will simply be moving over properties that would have become yours in due course anyway." It sounded very casual, but I felt anything but casual about it.

Had Lucius arranged all of this as a means to secure his family if the war went against them? My financial assistance, my marriage contract?

Of course he did. And of course my grandmother had gone along. Why I bet they had made the agreement between them so the families would come out on top no matter who won.

I hated to feel so insecure. How much of this did Draco know about? Was he in on it all from the start? Did it change anything between us? The rather arranged nature of our impending marriage suited me just fine, since I would end up with the man I loved but… was I merely a means to an end for Draco?

Absolutely not, I told myself. He just used it to get what he wanted in the end. A binding contract between us. Very Slytherin of him, but it did not mean he did not love me.

Right?

It had all been settled while I was fretting. As Draco and I were both of legal age now, my seventeenth birthday having just passed, this was normal. As the man he would be expected to handle our financial affairs. Just as I would be expected to manage the home finances and children. It was what I expected from watching my parents, and I am sure what he expected from watching his. Neither had really thought to consult me. I wasn't opposed to this precisely. I had always left the management of my finances to others. Gringott goblins to be exact. This wasn't any different.

It in no way meant my marriage was merely a financial arrangement. I knew that in my heart, but niggling self doubt was creeping in. After all, even with all that had happened, Draco could have made a high society marriage with a proper society type wife. Not some mousy girl with her nose in a book and the ink of financial papers staining her fingers.

I looked down at my hands a little embarrassed. Those girls always had perfectly manicured nails. They knew the right fashions to wear and how to style their hair. They didn't dream little snakey dreams.

I decided then and there to make some changes. Pria and Esme would help me become fashionable, I was sure.


	76. Eigth Year

**I think to call Lucius a "good" guy is over simplifying a very complex character. Remember, even before Voldemort's return he slipped Ginny a cursed diary and engaged in muggle baiting at the World Cup. I just think he is more complex than the evil acts he committed. He was a devoted father and husband, fanfics that cast him as abusive are AU. Canon does not portray him that way. But remember, we are only getting Alya's P.O.V. and in many ways she has as narrow a world view as he does. I would like to think the true horrors of war tempered him, if not his ugly view of the world.**

 **James Gamp was killed by falling debris when he tried to close off the tunnel to protect his friends.**

I found it somewhat ironic that despite being promoted one year I would still be finishing Hogwarts the exact same year as if I had not been promoted.

Professor McGonagall was happy to welcome me back. I had never been well received enough to warrant a Head position, and it would have been ridiculous to even consider me for a Prefect position. When would I have had time? Still, to be welcomed back and allowed to sit the seriously overrated N.E.W.T.s was… nice.

OK, it was a bloody nightmare. I didn't need or want them and the only reason I was back was because it was a requirement for Draco.

The train ride was not terrible. The Vipers were back, and with the exception of the empty seat where James should be sitting, it felt good. Normal even. This year there would be no drama, no monsters.

Draco still wanted me next to him, so he insisted we all sit in a larger car. Technically he was supposed to sit with the Prefects, but no one told Draco Malfoy what to do. Besides, others had been promoted to the position. He was not needed.

Not everyone returned. Pansy and Daphne had decided against coming back. Blaise and Theo returned.

So did Gregory Goyle, but he still seemed quite afraid of me. Even though all I wanted was to forget all that had happened. I was no threat to him or anyone else.

I just wanted to enjoy my last year at school.

The school had been mostly repaired. There were places where you could still see damage, and some of the statues were missing. But considering how much it had gone through, the old place looked good. There was something very comforting about seeing Hagrid and hearing him calling out to the first years.

"All righ' there, Alya?" Hagrid called out to me, annoying Draco who grabbed my hand tighter. Draco may have out grown his irriational hatred of all things and wizards not like him, but he still blamed Hagrid for the hippogriff attack.

"Yes, I am fine Hagrid." I called happily, squeezing Draco's arm in warning. Hagrid is an old family friend and Draco just has to get used to it!

"Come 'round for tea when you get time." Hagrid waved me off as he led the first years to the train.

"He is an annoying oaf." Draco murmured. "I don't see how you can stand to go over there to his… house? Hut? Shack? Whatever it is, and then drink anything that came from there."

"Hagrid is an… inventive cook."

"I'll just bet." Draco smirked at me.

"And ANYWAY…" I emphasized my point "You should be grateful I have a soft spot for annoying oafs." That comment earned me a glare.

I noticed the whispering, the angry looks and the tension as soon as we approached the carriages.

"I can't believe they let that Death eater back…"

"I can't believe any of those Slytherin's were allowed back. They were all on You Know Who's side, ready to hand Harry Potter right over, I know because I was there!" Some young boy said this. I knew for certain he had been evacuated long before the fighting began.

I felt Draco tense beside me and start to draw away from me.

"Oh no you don't" I glared at him "you are not going to start avoiding me over them."

"Alya, be reasonable we talked about this…" Draco started.

Yeah right, if by talked about this he meant a screaming match at 3 a.m. then yeah, we talked.

"And I told you then, I won't pretend you don't exist, that we are not together, for the general riff raff." I motioned angrily at the others giving them a good glare.

What had this fool boy done to me? Now I was talking back and glaring at people. Oh he made me so angry!

"Well, we won't settle it here " Draco sighed at me.

"Give it up, mate." I heard Frank laugh behind us as he climbed in to the carriage. "You aren't going to win that round."

"Gamp, I am trying to protect her reputation." Draco started but was interrupted by all of the Vipers laughing at him.

"No offence, Draco, but if Alya was at all worried about her reputation she would hardly be here with YOU." Mora gasped between fits of laughter.

"Oh?" I felt Draco stiffen "And why is that, exactly?"

Esme, unperturbed by Draco's cold demeanor added "You have a certain… reputation yourself, Draco. It is said any girl who spends tem minutes alone with you has her reputation ruined already." She kissed him on the cheek as she went by and dropped all of her bags on the carriage floor.

"I… but..." Draco sputtered.

"Excellent come back, love." I laughed "Thinking of entering politics?" He glared down at me.

"Those rumors are untrue! They are bald faced lies! As if with everything else going on I had the time to ruin some girl's reputation!" He was getting very upset, but I just couldn't stop laughing!

"Or several" I giggled.

"This rumor doesn't bother you? For it to be true I would have had to have been cheating on you!" Draco glared while I tried to contain my amusement.

"No, Draco, it doesn't bother me in the least, since I know it is untrue. And besides, let them talk. Jealous prats. I ended up with the Slytherin Prince, after all." I leaned over to kiss him.

Draco shook his head at me, his lips finally turning up into a smile "You have always been better than I have been at shrugging rumors and negative comments off. It never ceases to amaze me."

"Yes, well, with my brother's I have had lots and lots of practice." I snuggled against him as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

The rest of the carriage ride was filled with laughter and the joy of my friends.

As soon as we got to the castle and Draco helped me out, the murmurs and snide comments started up again.

And it wasn't just the students, even Professor Trewlaney was heard mumbling to herself "I hope I have enough balls left in case I need ammunition."

It was going to be a very long school year.


	77. Draco Becomes an Honorary Viper

**Chapter 77 Draco Becomes an Honorary Viper**

 **I am so sorry I have not updated recently. I have had the worst flu! I won't go in to specifics but it ended up with me in a Nyquil "sniffling, sneezing wondering how you woke up on the bathroom floor medicine" induced fog for a couple of weeks.**

It was hard to ignore the fact that Draco was feared and hated by the general population. He could hardly walk down the halls without sneers and glares directed at him.

He pretended it did not bother him, but I knew it was getting to him. He started to become more and more withdrawn.

He asked me to stay out of it and I tried. I really did. But when the jeers started turning to physical violence, I had enough.

We were studying quietly under a tree when three sixth year Gryffindor boys approached us. I did not know who they were at the time, and it really did not matter.

"Look, Lars." One jabbed his buddy in the arm "It is the baby death eater scum. Hard to believe they would let his kind back here."

The boy was levitating a small rock bouncing it back and forth over his out stretched hand, barely skimming his finger tips.

"I heard that the Ministry told him Hogwarts or the Dementor's kiss." The one named Lars laughed.

"Uggghhh… and that Weasley traitor is with him again, of course. Hey, Weasley, when you get enough of whoring for the Death Eater scum, I got something for you." The third boy grabbed his crotch.

Draco jumped up with me right behind him. His wand was out before I could stop him.

I placed my hand on Draco's shoulder and shook my head "They aren't worth it. You have to stay out of trouble."

"Yeah, lover boy, listen to your whore." The first one said again "We wouldn't want to mess up your pretty face."

With that he flicked the rock at Draco causing a small cut on his cheek.

Before anyone else could react I had my wand out shouting "LEVICORPUS!" My mentor wasn't Severus Snape for no reason! He was fully upside down with his robes were down over his head helpless. For good measure I flicked my wand again and pantsed him.

The other two idiots pulled their wands. I heard a very vicious voice behind me say "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

When I noticed how terrified the Gryffindors looked I chanced a peek over my shoulder and was surprised to see all of the Vipers standing behind me wands drawn and trained on the Gryffindors.

What was even more surprising was that the voice that had spoken up belonged to Pria. Quiet, shy usually terrified of her own shadow, Pria.

As I looked over my shoulder my concentration slipped a little and I heard a scream as the idiot in the air fell a few inches. Screamed like a terrified toddler. So much for Gryffindor courage. It was barely six inches that he slipped.

Frank slipped around the three girls and looked up at the boy hanging upside down and back at me. "Is there a reason you have hoisted McDaniels up by his short hairs?"

Ahh… McDaniels… I would definitely remember the name.

"We are having a difference of opinion on how to see things." I explained calmly. "He and his friends saw themselves as bullies and I saw McDaniels underpants."

"You're sticking up for this Death Eater, Patel? I thought you were one of the good ones!" The one named Lars sneered at her.

"I am sticking up for my friends. And "one of the good ones"? So what you are saying is my friends are the "bad ones"? I know you had better not be saying that. Your girlfriend really likes my cosmetic charms, I would hate to cut her off."

"And she really loves my perfumes, I would hate to accidentally create one that makes her smell like rotten eggs for a week." Esme told her.

Mora didn't say anything, she just glared and held her wand out.

I walked calmly towards McDaniels and hissed quietly in his ear "If you or your friends come near Draco again, I won't cut your girlfriends off of their makeup and perfume. I will kill you." His eyes grew wide. "Professor Snape and the Carrows taught me potions as High Inquisitor that they would never teach _you_. I can brew a potion that has no taste, no odor and disappears in food or liquid. It will kill you almost three days later with no other symptoms than your dead body, and all traces will leave your body in twenty minutes. No one will know how you died and I will have an air tight alibi for your time of death. I will never be caught."

It was all a bald faced lie but _he_ didn't know that.

"You and your friends will leave." I said more loudly as I dropped him on his ass "And if you ever come around us again…" I grinned as he scrambled to pull up his pants "I won't be responsible for my actions. Literally, I will never be held responsible for my actions."

He nodded quickly and grabbed his friends and ran off.

"Alright She-Weasel." Draco was grinning at me "What did you say to McDaniels?"

I shrugged "Just a private chat about manners and how I never wanted to see any from him again, good or bad."

"Mmmhmmmm…" he just shook his head and then looked over at the rest of the Vipers.

"Umm… thanks. I…" he clearly had no idea what to say.

Pria did though. She came up and held his hand just like I used to hold hers when she was feeling insecure or scared.

"You are with Alya, that makes you an honorary Viper. NO ONE messes with the Vipers." She ended by hugging him. Draco was stuff at first but finally relaxed and hugged her back.

"OK, so what does one do as an "honorary Viper"? Besides terrorizing the population of the school that is?" He slipped an arm around my waist.

"Well…" Mora spoke up for the first time "We listen to Alya advise us on how we should handle our side businesses and finances a lot."

"Too tame." Draco said pretending to stifle a yawn.

Frank laughed "Well, there is one other thing we spent seven years on…"

Draco looked at him suspiciously "What in the name of Salazar Slytherin can be so complicated that it has taken you seven years and it is not complete?"

Frank reached in to his satchel and pulled out a few scrolls of parchment. "This." He said presenting the scrolls to Draco with a flourish.

"What… what are these? Maps?" Draco looked confused.

"Maps?" I gasped with mock outrage. "Those are not just any old maps! Those are maps of the dungeons beneath the Slytherin dungeons and we have spent seven years mapping and clearing them!"

"What? I thought you had only explored the few rooms you hang out in!" He looked suitable impressed.

We all laughed. "Oh you have nooo idea!" Esme grinned and we spent the next several hours showing him the literal miles of dungeons we had mapped.


	78. A Conversation Overheard

Almost everyone avoided us after the Gryffindor incident, which suited us just fine. We never really wanted much to do with anyone outside of our group anyway.

In retrospect that was pretty short sighted of those of us who intended to make our living selling to others, but we were young and arrogant. We never really believed we would need anyone besides each other.

Well, almost everyone avoided us.

There was a Slytherin sixth year named Astoria Greengrass who was very determined NOT to ignore Draco.

He would laugh it off and tell me to ignore the pampered little bimbo who was always trying to get his attention, but I was seething.

She always found reasons to touch his arm, orbat her stupid long black eyelashes at him.

I knew she was Daphne's sister. But where Daphne was quiet and sweet and had come completely out of her shell once she and Pansy had gone public, Astoria was a shameless flirt.

She had a little flock of friends that just adored her and hung on her every word.

All of this would have been tolerable if she had been ugly, or mean, or flawed in some way.

But other than being a flirt with MY fiancé, she was perfect.

Beautiful, perfectly manicured and always dressed like she had just stepped out of witch weekly.

She was popular in several houses and even espoused muggle tolerance and love.

She was beloved among the Professors and a model student.

In short? She was literally everything I was not.

Next to her, I felt dumpy and under dressed. I looked down at my chewed on, ink stained fingernails more than once and sighed.

Of course Esme, Pria and Mora told me that was all nonsense, that I was worth ten of her, but what were they supposed to say? "Yeah, we know we are your best friends, but that Astoria… she makes you look like something a kneazel dragged through the mud and chewed on."

Frank told me to stop being such a downer, that Draco was madly in love with me and that some little tart wouldn't change that. Again, what else could _he_ say? "Yep, the boy is going to leave you for sure, better start stalking up on tissues and chocolate frogs."

My friends were clearly not going to be no help at all. My Mum, Merlin knows I love her to little bitsy pieces, but fashion plate she is not.

I knew of only one person that I could reasonably turn to. My new sister in law Fleur. She was gorgeous and always beautifully dressed. If anyone could help me it would be her.

I sent off an owl and we arranged to meet up the following week for fall holidays.

I would shop until I dropped. I would get a manicure and pedicure. I would get my hair done. I would walk back in to this school looking better than I ever had.

And Merlin willing Fleur could teach me a thing or two about flirting and attracting boys.

That weekend Fleur met me at the Leaky Cauldron. We went first to Gringotts where I drew out an unholy sum of money. More galleons than I had ever spent on myself or on anything except more investments.

Over lunch I explained my problem to Fleur. She listened patiently and then took my hand "Aleeya…" she always pronounced my name elongated like that and stressed the "y" it was actually kind of pretty. "You 'ave nothing to worry about. Draco, 'ee loves you. EEt ees clear to anyone who sees you together. You do not 'ave to make yourself different for heem."

Yeah… so says the gorgeous part veela blonde.

I guess my skepticism must have shown on my face because Fleur smiled at me. "Do you theenk eet matters to me that Bill 'as scars? Do you think 'e would love me less eef I 'ad scars? That ees not 'ow love works. Love, eet ees blind. You are perfect zee wat you are."

"Still, I should like to be perfect the way Astoria is…" I pouted.

Fleur drew my arm through hers as we paid and left.

"You cannot be. You can only be perfect as you. Zee job of being perfect as Astoria is taken. But zee job of being perfect as Aleeya ees taken as well. And eet ees zee perfect Aleeya zat Draco loves. Not zees other girl." Seeing the look on my face she sighed "But as you weesh I shall 'elp you to dress a little more fashionably. To become a better version of YOU not zees other girl."

And so she did, I got my hair done, and it looked lovely. My nails were kept short but strengthened and neatened up and the ink stains removed.

And I bought a new wardrobe. I loved it. I felt chic and sophisticated, I never wore much in the way of fashionable clothing before. Really just at formal dances.

But Fleur flatly refused to tell me how to flirt and seduce Draco back. She looked a little nauseated at the thought. Merlin, she was acting like an ACTUAL sister!

When I got back I showed off my new look to the Vipers. While they loved it, none were happy that I had changed my looks over Astoria. What was wrong with these people?! Did all of them want me to lose Draco to some beautiful purebred princess?!

Still, it was nice that my friends loved me so much that they wanted me to stay exactly as I am. Or was, I suppose.

I went off to find Draco. He was going to take me to the dining hall on his arm and actually be proud of being seen with me.

I found him in the library, I could hear Astoria talking to him. I felt like a dirty sneak listening in, but hey, Slytherin!

"Draco, you know, marriage contracts can be broken. You deserve someone who will fit in with your friends and family. Alya is… nice, I suppose, but she really isn't in your league." That little BITCH!

"You are right… she isn't in my league." Draco replied and my heart sank.

I was not going to take this laying down. I rounded the corner to confront them and saw her with her arms wrapped around him kissing him.

My heart didn't sink this time. It shattered.

I ran without saying anything. When I got to the dungeons they were mercifully empty.

I stuffed my new clothes into the bag I had used to carry everything back from Beauxbatons and dashed off a note to the Vipers so they wouldn't worry.

With no real permanent destination in mind, I fled the castle and took the nearest floo to the Leaky Cauldron where I rented a room from Tom.

One inside I locked the door and threw myself on the bed to weep myself to sleep.

All of my hopes and dreams for the future were destroyed. I was completely lost.

Blissfully sleep claimed me and for a while I was at peace.


	79. In Hiding

I could lie to myself and say I wasn't hiding out, but what was the point? I was absolutely hiding. Mostly from Draco and the new love of his life. And their happiness. But I was also hiding from my friends and their well meaning, but ultimately painful, pitying looks.

I had been gone from the school since that Saturday and now it was Tuesday. At least it was fall break and I didn't have to worry about the school tattling on me to my mother. I may be technically an adult with her own flat… but that would not stop a howler from my mother.

I was sitting in the Leaky Cauldron glaring in to a glass of firewhiskey. Now that I was of age I planned to drown the demons in the bottom of my stomach with copious amounts of alcohol.

After all, according to alchemy, alcohol IS a solution.

I sat there thinking of all of the places I could move to in order to escape my current reality.

The wilds of Peru. With the merpeople in Atlantis. Maybe I would go learn dragon taming with Charley.

Oh, who was I kidding? I would be terrified to do any of those things.

I supposed I could always owl Madame Maxine and explain the situation. See if I could take my N.E.W.T.s at Beauxbatons. Maybe make some other friends there this time.

As the glass before me doubled, from the alcohol or tears I was never quite certain, a glass slammed down in front of me.

"Not looking for any…" hic "company" I slurred.

Alright, maybe my double vision was a little column A and a little column B.

"That ees good, because I 'ave a feeling you would be quite terrible company." I heard a very familiar voice.

I looked up in to the faces of both Camille's staring down at me.

Great another raving beauty. Or two of them. Alright, definitely more column A than B.

"I am terrible company for a lot of people these days." In morose self pity I put my head on my arms and sobbed.

Like the good friend she was Camille just rubbed my back until I could look up again. She watched me patiently as I collected myself and could speak again.

"It…" I sniffed and blew my nose "it is Draco… he has found someone else. Someone beautiful and perfect and pure and…"

"And he has broken it off with you?" she asked sympathetically.

"Not… not yet, I left before he could and came here." I reached for my glass again, which she promptly snatched away from me.

"No more for you, madememoiselle, are you not just returned from 'ospital for over doing another leequeed?" she asked, disapprovingly.

Good friends suck. I need a bad friend who will help me drink myself blind.

"What exactly 'appened?" She asked, summoning a waitress and ordering tea. She said "No." firmly when I tried to order another firewhiskey.

Glaring in to the steaming tea that appeared before me I explained everything that had happened, starting with the little flirtations up to the big betrayal and kiss.

Halfway through my story she poured something in to my tea.

"Sober up potion." She explained.

"Great, I grumbled, if I wanted to be sober I wouldn't have got drunk." I drank down the foul concoction anyway. Bloody waste of good alcohol if you asked me.

Which she hadn't.

"I just feel so betrayed, I can't believe he would cheat on me." I rubbed my face with my hands and looked at her.

I was surprised to see how guilty and sad she looked. Then I remembered… fourth year, Merlin, she wasn't still thinking about that was she?

"Camille…" I took her hand "this is different… James and I were children, we were never going to grow up, have children and grow old together. We are past all of that."

She smiled at me gratefully. "Get up" she said, "we are going out."

"Oh… I don't think…" I sure as hell didn't want to go anywhere,

"Clearly." She said sniffing my empty firewhiskey glass with distaste "But that is what I am here for."

She dragged me upstairs and forced me to get dressed in this slinky little red dress. Then she skillfully applied my hair and makeup. She did even better than the professionals who had worked on me when I went out with Fleur. Was that only three days ago?

After she had poured me into the dress, I have no idea why I bought the damned thing, she dragged me out the door and down the street. A quick spell on my high heels made them easy and comfortable to walk in.

I could hear the music long before I saw the club she was taking me to. Some band was doing covers of the Weird Sister's "Do the Hippogriff" when we entered.

I would have been all for sitting down and watching for a bit but Camille was having none of it. She immediately dragged me to the dance floor where we determined, that yes, in fact we could dance like a hippogriff and shake our booties like boggarts in pain.

We danced through that song and two more when some guy, I didn't recognize him, he was a few years older, kept trying to dance closer to me and even dance with me.

Ugggh… couldn't he see I just wanted to be here with my friend? I got Camille's attention and jerked my head towards the bar. I desperately needed some water.

I meant to have water but when there I ended up with two firewhiskeys and a glass of wine. If I was going to have fun, I was going to REALLY have fun.

The thing about sober up potions is they only work if you DON'T keep drinking. Something I had forgotten when the full affects of what I had drank earlier and the new alcohol hit my system.

And of course here comes jerk face to ruin even my drunken stupor. Bastard. "Hey baby, why don't you come back to my place where we can really get this party started?" he leered down at me.

Started? I was ready to be completely finished and he wanted to START partying? "No thank you, I am here with my friend." I motioned towards Camille.

He put both hands on either side of me effectively pinning me against the bar "That's OK, baby, bring her, three is way more fun."

Suddenly he was gone. I blinked my eyes a few times. One moment he was in front of me and the next "poof". Then I saw why.

Draco had thrown him several feet. The guy was laying flat on his ass. "Keep your hands off of my fiancé or I will curse you so hard your grandchildren will be born with flippers.

"Draco?" I whispered before passing out. Last thing I remember was Draco catching me as I fell forward.


	80. Draco Explains

I woke up sometime later. I have no idea how long. Alcohol will do that to you.

There was a cool cloth on my head and a hand holding mine. I slowly opened one eye, it was all I could manage and saw Draco staring down at me. I closed my eyes and rolled my head away from him.

How dare he come here and pretend that he cares about me? Arrogant jerk.

And then with a groan I managed to struggle to my feet and rush to the toilet before emptying out the contents of everything I had drank an eaten… in my entire life. I could feel someone holding my hair back.

Great, on top of NOT being Sweet Princess Pureblood, now I was a vomiting hung over mess.

When I was done, Draco was holding out a wet cloth again and he gently wiped my face. With a wave of the wand he cleaned my mouth of all bad tastes.

"Here," he said quietly, handing me a potion vial "It will help."

I was skeptical that I could keep anything down but as soon as I finished the potion I felt much better.

"Won't your new girlfriend be upset that you are here with me?" I snapped bitterly.

"My new… what in the name of Salazar Slytherin are you talking about, Aly?" He managed to look confused and innocent all at the same time.

Oh he was good.

"You know, Astoria." I glared at him.

"What about here?" He still looked puzzled. I faltered for a second before I remembered what I saw and that he is Slytherin.

"Don't even pretend you don't know what I am talking about." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I don't have to pretend, I literally have no idea what you are talking about." He continued to wipe my face and take care of me.

Bastard.

"Don't even think about denying it. I saw you." I snatched the cloth away from him.

"Saw me? Saw me doing what exactly?" How dare he sound offended?! I was the wounded party here.

"I saw you kissing her and telling her I was not in your league!" I was near tears again.

Draco sat next to me and took my hand in his "I… didn't know you had witnessed any of that… you should have come to me."

Now I really was crying, I snatched my hand from his "Why. So you can tell me how much better Astoria is than I am? That she is your ideal little pureblood princess, beautiful and smart and popular, and I am just the offspring of blood traitors? No thank you."

Draco looked like he was starting to get angry. Good, jerk. "You would have found out if you had stayed that SHE kissed ME and that I told her off for it. And that I told her I would never want to see you sink low enough to be considered in my league." He was shouting now.

He had pushed her away and stuck up for me…? "Oh." Was all I managed to squeak out. Draco lied to a lot of people, I mean a LOT of people, but he never lied to me.

"Yeah, "oh" and yes, Astoria is everyone's ideal of a perfect pureblood wife. She is talented, rich, beautiful and very, very influential. She will make beautiful pureblood children one day who will drive our children crazy with their snobbiness. But she is NOT my ideal of a wife."

I grabbed on to one thing he said "Our children?" Damned it, why was I feeling all warm and gooey. I was the angry, offended party here.

"Well… yeah, I mean… I know that most purebloods only have one child, your family being a wild and crazy exception. But I was lonely as a kid. I always wished I had a sister or brother to look after and protect and fight with. I tried to protect my mother, but it was all wrapped up in feeling betrayed that she wasn't protecting me, and a little brother or sister… I could have felt like a hero to someone." His eyes were far away.

I knew I should be paying attention, really, I knew that, but I was distracted by the idea that Draco had thought about having children with me. I mean, I dreamt of those things, but had no idea he had as well.

I sat on the bed and put my face in my hands. "I am so sorry I ran. I just… Draco, you are attractive, and rich and so smart and… I just can't figure out why a guy like you would want to be with a girl like me."

"Oh, you are so right!" he said in a sweet, but slightly sarcastic tone "I mean, you are only brilliant and beautiful and independent. Oh, and let's not forget brave. I really should be looking for someone who is completely different from you."

"Astoria is beautiful." I couldn't help but point out.

"Yes, she is." I frowned at his admission, like I said, he never lied to me "But I don't love her. Right now, I don't even like her. I sure as hell wouldn't have spent three days in a blind panic searching for her!"

He had been searching for me? I felt guilty.

"How… how did you find me?" I truly was curious, how did he know to go to that bar?

"Well, it sure wasn't because of your damned friends. I may be an honorary Viper, but you are their bloody queen. They wouldn't tell me anything. Pria was happy to offer me a hug, but I am pretty sure Mora is planning to slip me poison if I don't return you happy and healthy to Hogwarts." Yeah, the Vipers, we are loyal like that.

"It wasn't until I got an angry howler from Camille chewing me out for breaking your heart that I put two and two together and figured you would probably hole up here the way she had." Camille sent him a howler? I almost laughed. "Then I bullied and threatened everyone in this place until Tom finally allowed that he knew where you had flooed to. He also told me you were having way too much alcohol delivered to your table."

"Uggh… don't remind me." My stomach was still a little queasy.

"You deserve every moment of that hangover. You scared the life out of me." He picked up my hair brush and started brushing my hair, It was… nice… domestic even.

"I'm sorry." I said again lamely "I just… I was so certain I had lost you and that all of my dreams of the future were over. But… you kept telling me not to worry about Astoria, and then there she was and I…"

"I told you not to worry because you have a tendency to over react to threats, real or perceived." He wrapped his arms around me from behind and I rested my head on his chest.

"I do NOT over react." I protested.

He waved his hand around the room and motioned towards the empty firewhiskey bottles.

"OK… maybe I can be a little excitable…" I was willing to allow that much.

"A LITTLE?! You threatened McDaniels with something so heinous I hear he is considering leaving school!" Draco laughed. I had no idea he was so scared he wanted to run away. Wicked.

I turned around and buried my face in to his chest. "Take me home?"

"Anything for you love." Draco apparated us to Hogsmeade.


	81. Confrontation

Draco and I went back to being deliriously happy. When we weren't being deliriously overwhelmed with .T. studies.

But I had determined this was not over. There was no way that little tart was going to get away with what was a clear case of assault on MY fiancé.

I didn't care that what she assaulted him with was her mouth. If someone does not want you to kiss or touch them, you don't get to! It is wrong and creepy.

Once I fully explained to the rest of the Vipers what had happened, and received the lecture of my life from all of them, we got down to discussing how I should handle the situation.

"You should really just talk to her and explain that you and Draco are to be married and that she does not stand a chance with him, and that she is making him uncomfortable." Pria looked up from her latest batch of permanent lipstick.

She was developing an entire line of permanent makeup. You put it on perfectly once and never have to change it. Although it can be removed with a counter spell, essentially it is curse based, it will be there until it is removed. Right now her lipstick kept fading to a putrid purple color, so it was not quite ready.

"Merlin's balls to THAT!" Mora fumed, "You should curse that bitch within an inch of her life." She peered at Pria as she used the counter curse to remove the awful purple from her lips "Or just swap out her lipstick for some of Pria's…"

Pria glared at her.

Stroking Frank's hair, he once again had his head in her lap, esme looked thoughtful. "You can't curse her, she may find a way to blame it on Draco, but you should definitely have words with her. What she did is unacceptable."

"Or, you know, since Draco chose you and there is no real harm done, you could just let the whole thing go…" Frank suggested unhelpfully earning him a glare from all four of us.

"Moving on from THAT insane suggestion" Mora said glaring at Frank (who mumbled "Yeah… I am the insane one…") "You need to put her in her place immediately. If you don't she is going to try again. And unless you want to continually be guarding Draco's back, she needs to know there will be consequences if she tries again. SEVERE consequences."

I nodded. I was 100% in agreement, but I was also a teeny bit intimidated by the beautiful and confident sixth year.

Still, they were all correct, except Frank, I needed to take some sort of action. I did not blame her for being attracted to Draco, but you don't just try to step in on a serious relationship. One serious enough to have a marriage contract.

OK, so we had not exactly known about it at the time. And OK, so it was done on our behalf by two loveable scoundrels (I am pretty sure I was the only one to have ever referred to Cedrella Weasley of Lucius Malfoy as loveable scoundrels) a relationship like ours is sacred and she had no business trying to interfere.

In the mean time I kept studying for my N.E.W.T.s. I was taking six. Potions, of course, transfiguration, alchemy, herbology, care of magical creatures and arithmancy.

Any or all of them could help me get a position when I left school, but I already knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to open my own investing firm. At this point I knew enough to really get started and I certainly had the capital to finance it.

The parents were after me to take a post in the Ministry. Ugggh, no way! That was all I needed "There goes that fiancé/wife of that ex=Death Eater. They say she sacrifices Gryffindor's in her rumpus room.

No thank you.

Narcissa, as she had insisted I call her, wanted me to join her in charity works like a proper pureblood wife. Now, I have nothing against charitable works, some had done an awful lot of good during the rebuild efforts, it is just I am more of a "hand over galleons" and not a "roll up our sleeves and get to work" sort of supporter.

I was incredibly surprised to see how hands on Narcissa was. It is so easy to get an idea in our heads about how people are and how they should behave. I thought she would, I don't know, hold afternoon teas and get other rich wives to donate.

That was not her at all, she went out personally to oversee some of the restoration efforts and offer suggestions for how to preserve some of the more important historical sites.

It was due to my weekend afternoons with Narcissa and my studies that I had not had a chance to confront Astoria.

My chance came surprisingly when we found ourselves alone in the library. I placed my books firmly down in front of her. Not aggressively, but I let her know I mean business.

She raised one perfectly trim med eyebrow at me "Is there something you require, Miss Weasley? I am attempting to study for my exams."

"Yes, in fact there is something I require. That you stay away from Draco. He is MY fiancé, not yours, and he never will be. I don't appreciate your attempts to interfere. Stay away, far away from him." I said this firmly, trying to keep the anger from my voice.

"It is clear you care very much about him, and that being the case, you should want what is best for him." She replied, smoothly.

"And I suppose you believe you are what is best for him?" I did not hide the anger this time.

"But of course. His family's finances and reputation have suffered greatly. I am in a position to change both circumstances. You, well, you simply are not. Your family is… lovely I am certain, but hardly influential. My family is." She shrugged one of her perfectly smooth white shoulders at me.

"MY family are war heroes, yours hid. My finances…" I hesitated, most of the school had no idea that I had any money at all and for some reason I did not want to share this with her. "are none of your business."

"My business? Absolutely not. However, I do believe they are the Malfoy's business. They are hardly in a position to support those… less fortunate than themselves." Less fortunate? The bitch.

"Regardless of whether or not you believe I am the right choice, I am still Draco's choice. Our marriage contract was drawn up long ago. You are not going to change that." I started to gather my books. As far as I was concerned this conversation was over.

"I would not be so certain about that. My father has gone to see Lucius Malfoy about a more advantageous contract." She smiled sweetly at me.

"Lucius loves me. He would never toss me over for some grasping scheming girl like you." I was certain of Lucius Malfoy's affections. After all, hadn't he put a great deal of property and money into a trust for my marriage?

"Lucius Malfoy may indeed… care…. for you. But I assure you, he cares for his family more. He will take this proposal." She sounded so self assured. "And as to interfering, there was to be a marriage contract between Draco and myself long before YOU came along. It has been in the planning since my birth. If anyone is the interloper here, it is you."

"Draco loves ME not YOU!" I hissed at her.

"Such a naïve girl. See, this is why you are no good for the Malfoy heir. Love has nothing to do with a pureblood marriage. It is about family alliances and the consolidation of property. You have no family of consequence and no property of your own to consolidate. You have no idea how to fit in to polite society. You will only embarrass the Malfoys and yourself. My family's history of muggleborn tolerance and our wealth, not to mention my own charms, are exactly what the Malfoys need right now. And if you truly loved Draco and his family, you would step aside." She rose gracefully, smiled at me and floated out of the library.


	82. I'm trying to Study Here!

I had no time to worry about Astoria. And Draco assured me that even if Lucius did favor a different contract, except that Draco was confident that he never would, as an adult Lucius could not enforce his will on Draco.

I had to study. I needed to do good on these exams. I just could not disappoint my family further by failing them! You would think having an eidetic memory would make it a breeze, but I still had to actually READ the stuff.

And practice wand work for the practical portion.

And brew the potions.

And counter the curses.

Madame Pomphrey told me when I went to see her for my physical, that she was brewing an unseemly amount of tonics for nerves. I believed her, she looked completely frazzled.

Ever since leaving the hospital rehabilitation ward I had to go in regularly. No one told me it was because they thought I would relapse but… they totally thought I would relapse.

"I would help you if I had even a moment to myself Madame Pomphrey I know it has to be hard since…" my voice caught in my throat "since professor Snape…" I couldn't go on. I knew how much he had helped her in brewing potions for the hospital wing. I knew he would be pleased if I stepped in, but I couldn't even remember the last time I had that was free.

She squeezed my shoulder "I know dear, don't fret. It will all be over soon. This happens every year."

"Yes, but every other year you had professor Snape…" I hesitated before leaving.

"And this year I have Professor Slughorn. Go on now back to studying for you." She pushed me towards the door.

I looked at her skeptically, Professor Slughorn was perfectly competent, but not known for being the most giving of his time and energy.

Draco as many exams as I did. One more even since he was continuing DADA, he could have the good graces to at least look a little frazzled.

He did not. In fact he was disgustingly chipper. I wanted to smack him!

"Just think Aly! We will be done with all of this school nonsense after our exams and we can do whatever we want! Travel the world, rest on sun drenched beac hes with our toes in the sand. Whatever!" See? Chipper. GRRRR!

I looked at him wryly "You my love, would fry to a crisp on sundrenched beaches." I went back to my book.

"Stop trying to take the fun out of Summer vacation, Aly!" he laughed at me.

"It is barely the Christmas Holiday! I am already giving that up to study, and I do not even want to think as far ahead as summer! We still have all of winter and spring to study. And I know for a fact that your grades are slipping in charms."

He pushed my book down and lay his head down in my lap, looking up at me with sad puppy dog eyes. He was difficult to resist like that.

"Do you know what would help me study?" he asked, slyly.

"Color coordinated study schedules?" I offered primly.

"Uggggh…. You sound like Granger." He mimicked as though he were gagging.

I slapped his arm "Hermione is a lovely girl if you would just take the time to get to know her."

"She is a know it all swot." He said grabbing back the book I had levitated to my hands.

"Why? Because she likes to study and get good grades?" I swotted away his hands from my potions book.

"No, because she likes to tell people she studies and gets good grades." He pantomimed raising his hand in the air and jumping up and down excitedly

I tried to stifle a laugh. I actually like Hermione. But in the end I couldn't help it.

Draco grinned at me before cupping my cheeks and giving me a very gentle kiss.

"Now, back to my original idea about how you can help me study…" he gave me that sexy smirk that makes my tummy flip over.

"Oh? Is she going to color coordinate your schedules too?" We heard from the door. Frank and Esme were standing there hand in hand grinning down at us.

"Oh for Merlin's sake… you didn't really color coordinate their schedules did you?" Draco asked me in shock.

I blushed as Esme and Frank held up their schedules.

"Well… yeah, I mean it helps everyone stay organized and…. Oh shut up." I smacked his arm when he started laughing.

"Merlin, you are turning in to Granger." He kept laughing.

"Well, I did get the idea from her." I admitted.

"Never say that to me again! You are never to use any tips that you get from Granger on me." He glared at me with mock severity.

"Really? Because she did tell me about this one tip where you take your tongue and…" I leaned forward and whispered something scandalous into his ear.

"GRANGER told you that?" he asked shocked, but clearly intrigued.

"You would be amazed at what you can learn from a book, Draco." I smiled wickedly at him, shoving his charms book in to his hands.

"I may have underestimated Granger. Forget these books, let's go find THAT book!" He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me up.

"Nothing doing, Draco. Besides, Frank and Esme are here and we all need to study." I laughed at his look of disappointment.

"No offense, brother," he looked over at Frank "but I am planning to poison you."

"None taken" Frank laughed. "Esme showed me that trick. I would be planning to poison me too."

Esme blushed and hit Frank on the shoulder. "That is not a conversation fit for polite company."

Frank looked around, lifted a couch cushion and looked back at her "I see no polite company here. One of them made pink lines on my schedule…"

Draco looked at me, eyes raised "Pink for charms, because they are charming see?"

He looked at me as though I had lost my mind. I swore it sounded better at 3 a.m. when I thought of it.

"ANYWAY..." Frank interrupted us "and the other just told me he was plotting to poison me. TOLD ME. Out loud. I would say we are a thousand leagues from polite company."

"I meant me." Esme said archly.

We all laughed at that and picked up our books to start studying.

Soon Pria and Mora joined us and for the next several hours all you could hear was the sound of our quills scratching on parchment.

It was lovely.


	83. Confronting the Past

**Thank you for the review guest. Suddenly breaking that marriage contract would be out of character for the way I have portrayed Lucius Malfoy, but it is not a terrible idea. As it is your idea I would love to see you write a story with that as the focus. Please link me if you do. As far as shorter chapters go, all of my chapters run between 1200 and 1800 words on purpose. I want it to be a story people can read on a quick break. However, the story as a whole is now well over 100k words! Whewww!**

Draco had decided to take Pria under his wing and really teach her how to fly. She wasn't frightened of it, but had always been too shy to tell Madame Hooch when she had not understood something in first year so her skills lacked.

Draco and she were really getting along. He rather treated her like a kid sister, which I found very sweet. With his old friends not returning to school, dead or avoiding him, I really think the Vipers have been good for him. And Pria is impossible to hate. If she wasn't so cunning and lazy at her heart of hearts, I swear she would have been a Hufflepuff!

It was a beautiful day for flying too. Or so I am told. With Draco teaching Pria I mostly benched myself and just watched. But the day was still beautiful over all. A few fluffy white clouds in an incredibly blue sky. It was unseasonably warm for November as well. Or as warm as it ever really gets here.

I had a book open in front of me and I was trying my best to study, but not succeeding well. Draco had promised that he had a very special Christmas surprise for me planned. He kept sneaking away and when I finally confronted him about it he had stubbornly refused to give me even a teeny hint.

I knew the Vipers were in on it because I would catch them all whispering and they would grow quiet when I entered the room.

I hate suprises! Or rather, I hate surprises when I am not in on them.

I knew it couldn't be an engagement ring because we had decided to wait on that. We were negotiating back and forth on whether I would get something new and designed just for me like he wanted, or if I would get a Malfoy heirloom like his mother and I wanted. Lucius had no opinion at all and just laughed when it was brought up around him. It was good to see him laugh.

Draco would remind me that his father had been one of the bad guys. I reminded Draco that a lot of people thought that about him too. He just rolled his eyes at me.

We had taken to having alternate dinners between his parents and mine on weekends. Frankly? It was exhausting. I loved both of our families, but once in awhile it would be nice to have a weekend for just the two of us.

Especially since both Narcissa and Mum had started making noises about when we planned to get married and reminding us that weddings took time to plan and when did we think we would start blessing them with grandchildren.

It was horrifying really.

So there I sat with book in hand waiting for Pria and Draco to call it a night. It did not seem like that would be any time soon since I could hear them both laughing and teasing each other.

It was good for Pria too. She was usually so shy that she rarely laughed in public. She was funny and sweet when it was just our group, but very quiet when we went out.

Draco teased her in to laughing and enjoying herself. And in turn she gave him someone besides me who wanted to be teased by him and just laugh and enjoy themselves with no pressure.

I was just getting in to the theories on the twelve uses of dragon's blood, as discovered by Albus Dumbledore when Pria called out.

"ALYA! Look at how good I am getting!" She was waving at me.

I knew what was going to happen even before it did. She was leaning too far over. She was telling the broom to park. When it suddenly lurched from her unsure position she slipped.

She managed to hold on to the broom with her finger tips for a few horrifying moments as Draco raced to her.

I knew he would be too late. He knew he would be too late.

And from the terrified look on Pria's face she had realized it as well.

From her height if she fell there was no way she would survive. I pulled my wand and braced myself.

Sure enough only a second or two later her grip gave out and she went plummeting towards the earth.

I heard her high pitch scream which became super imposed over my memories of Ginny's screams as she had also once fallen to theground from too far up.

I screamed "ARRESTO MOMENTUM!" and I could only pray that once again my aim had been true and she would slow enough not to be killed.

I could only hope that this day once again, luck would be on my side.

I still heard the sickening thud of a body hitting the ground. I heard the horrifying snapping of bones breaking but when I looked she was alive!

Blessed Merlin I had been in time!

Both Draco and I raced to her prone and weeping form. The sounds of her cries were music to my ears. She was alive and conscious!

I dropped quickly to her side to examine her. It looked like she had broken her ankle and probably her wrist, but she was alive and mostly whole.

Draco quickly started levitating her towards the castle as I held her hand.

"You will be alright Pria. Madame Pomfrey will fix you up soon. Please don't cry." I wiped the tears from her face, accidentally leaving blood streaks from where the blood from her wrist had dripped down to her hand.

As soon as we neared the castle people started screaming for help and getting out of our way.

Mora, Esme and Frank rushed up to walk with us and offer words of comfort.

Madame Pomfrey took charge as soon as we got her in the doors. We were all told to wait outside until she was finished examining Pria and giving her the potions to set her bones.

"Alya… that was… that was brilliant." Draco said looking at me somewhat awestruck.

He was making me blush "It was nothing… just.."

"NOTHING?! If she had hit the ground at that distance she would have died. You slowed her enough that she will just have an amazing story to…." He stopped and looked at me gently "Alright Alya. Close your eyes, I am going to clean you up. No don't look down!"

It was too late I was already staring at my hands, covered in Pria's blood.

Oddly enough I didn't feel any of the usual panic. I wasn't exactly thrilled to be covered in blood, but I didn't feel as though I were going to go catatonic or anything.

I quietly held out my hands for him to clean up.

"Are you alright?" Draco whispered.

"Uh… yeah, actually, I think I am." He looked surprised.

I didn't understand it either. "I am not really sure why, and I still don't like blood, but… I don't feel like I am going to have a panic attack."

"So all one of us has to do to help you is face death and be tragically wounded? Frank asked. He then quickly touched his nose "Not it!"

We all laughed and waited for news about Pria.


	84. NEWT Exams

**LOL! My dear guest reader, clearly you have not been here for the hate dumped on me just for having Alya BRIEFLY date James. Are you trying to get me lynched? But your ideas are wonderful, you should write them!**

Pria was fine by the next day. She wasn't allowed to do anything strenuous or lift anything heavy, but she was healed and not in pain.

She flung herself on top of me hugging me and kissing me and crying. "I was so stupid to stop concentrating! But you… you saved me! I will never forget this Alya!"

I laughed and hugged her back "I did what anyone would have done, Pria, I am just glad you are alright."

"I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Which would be easier," she laid her head in my lap and batted her big brown eyes at me "If you would set me up with Fred so I could be your new sister!"

I laughed, I knew she had an angle, she really was a dirty Slytherin like the rest of us! "Fred? I thought you liked George?"

"No, George likes that girl who used to play Quidditch with him Angela or something." She shrugged. "Besides, Fred is funnier."

"Angelina? I thought George was dating Angelina?" I was so confused.

Mora laughed at the two of us "Why does Pria know so much more about your brothers' love lives than you do?"

I gagged "Never EVER say the words "brothers" and "love lives" in the same sentence."

"That's why" Draco smiled down at us, ruffling Pria's hair.

Frank came walking in at the moment "The Headmistress wants to see both of you" he pointed at Draco and me "in her office."

Everyone looked at me "What did you do?" Mora asked suspiciously.

"Why is it that when anyone gets called to the Head office everyone assumes a Weasley is behind it?" I huffed.

Esme just gave me that look, you know the one, the one that says your friends can't believe you manage to tie your own trainers.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." I jumped up grabbing Draco's hand.

When we got there Professor McGonagall greeted us, but she wasn't alone. She had four other people.

My heart sank when I saw one was the wizard who had over seen Draco's trial. I grabbed his hand, almost panicked. He wrapped an arm around me.

"What are you doing here?" I squeaked. Not very graceful, but it was the best I could do "Draco has been a model student, he never gets in to trouble, it was me who…" I was ready to confess to what I had said to McDaniels and every other sin I could think of to keep Draco safe.

"Miss Weasley, calm yourself!" Professor McGonagall said kindly, but a bit sharply. "Draco is not in trouble."

"Although" the wizard said smiling at me "it is nice that he has managed to integrate himself back in to school and make friends again."

I remembered at Draco's trial he had not been a terrible man. He had been willing to give second chances based on the circumstances and Draco's age. I smiled at him and shook his hand.

"It is a pleasure to see you again Miss Weasley. I just had lunch with your father last week. Good man." Deagan, that was his name.

"Yes he is Mister Deagan, I am glad others think so." I took the seat that Professor McGonagall had motioned towards.

"Have a seat, children. There is a matter we wish to discuss with you. Allow me to introduce Madame Marchbanks, Mr. Ogden and Madame Thomson from the Wizarding Examinations Authority, and Mr. Deagan, some of you may know from the Department of Magical law Enforcement." Professor McGonagall made introductions around.

"The Ministry wishes…" Professor McGonagall tightened her lips "after the troubles of last year to ensure that they are safeguarded within Hogwarts. It has been decided therefore, to offer the N.E.W.T. Exams early to those who have returned for their eighth year to complete those exams, but who actually attended their seventh year, to sit those exams early, should they so choose. You are under no obligation to do so and may have the full year to study of course."

Draco and I looked at one another and then back at Professor McGonagall. His hand gripped mine tightly. "Would… we be allowed to leave school once the exams are completed?" Draco asked, sparing a side glance at Mr. Deagan.

"Should you pass all of your exams with at least an Acceptable, then yes, at that point the Ministry would be willing to lift your restrictions and allow you to leave school."

Draco looked at me "What do you think? I know you are ready but… I don't want to pressure you. This would allow us to start our lives…"

"When would you want us to sit them?" I asked. Could I do this? Was I ready?

"Almost at once" the incredibly ancient Madame Marchbanks said "tomorrow in fact, we want this done and over before the Winter Holiday."

Tomorrow? Draco and I looked at each other. I waited for a sign from him. He smiled slowly at me and nodded.

"We will take them, Professor. We are ready." I said all of this smiling in to Draco's eyes. No more sneaking around. We could confirm we were living together.

After going over the particulars. The measures in place to prevent cheating. Our return to the school for the graduation festivities. When we were done I thought I saw a tear in professor McGonagall's eyes. I smiled at her.

"I just… I can't believe that I won't have any Weasley's here, your family has been an institution in this school." We smiled at each other.

"Don't worry, Professor, Fred and George will send their children here and it will be like we never left." I reminded her.

"Merlin willing I will have retired or be dead before that happens." She and I both laughed.

The Vipers were excited and saddened all at once.

"We would leave school, but we will come back for the graduation ceremony." I told them.

"But for the second time" normally tough bad ass Mora was tearing up "The Vipers will be split up." We were all quiet thinking about James.

"We will always be the Vipers. No matter where we go." Frank said and we all agreed.

Over the next two weeks Draco and I and a few others took our exams. We sweated it, one girl from Hufflepuff vomited and had to be given a nerve tonic. It was the most grueling two weeks of my scholastic career, outside of Death Eater rule.

When we finished at the end of the second week we invited those who had sat the exams with us back to the Slytherin common room for a small party.

The Vipers had helped us set it all up. the firewhiskey and wine flowed freely.

At the end of the evening Draco hoisted me over his shoulder and carried me off to his bed. I guess we would be starting this life together early.


	85. Makeover

**Hello my lovelies! The social graces Alya learns here are ones that my incredibly fashionable grandmother taught me. She was a very talented psychiatrist in Toronto Canada and went to very nice events and restaurants. I miss her very much, she was amazing. As today would have been her birthday this chapter is an homage to my Grandma Jean, may God rest her soul. Keep in mind this is designed for the UK, when walking in the United States or anywhere else we drive on the right, please walk on the right side of the sidewalks and use the right entrances!**

I understood what everyone said about Astoria not being superior to me, and a quick discussion with her had shown what a cold bitch she is. I certainly wouldn't want Draco to end up with someone like that. But in my heart of hearts, I wished I was a little more fashionable.

I had never been a big one on fashion and makeup and social niceties, but now that I was getting older, I thought it was time I learned.

Thanks to Fleur I had all of the beautiful clothes I could ever hope for, but without the know how to wear them and what shoes go with what and how I should wear my makeup, they were useless.

Not to mention the social graces I needed to navigate the world the Malfoys lived in.

Fortunately, I had my Vipers.

Esme spent an entire day teaching me how to wear perfumes properly and what would go best with my own natural body odor.

Who knew that if you sprayed a bit on the backs of your knees that you would leave a lovely scent wherever you walked?

She made three scents for me. One for every day, one for special events and one for when I wanted to have Draco follow me like a lost puppy. I felt special just wearing the everyday one!

Pria taught me how to apply makeup so I would look fashionable. That makeup should enhance not cover up. Unless one was going for a very dramatic look. I was not quite ready for that yet!

Mora knew every single social grace there was to know and with her fashion sense she helped me learn how to wear my clothes well. She even took in a few in places so they showed off my figure better.

When we were all made up for the day we went out to lunch in Hogsmeade.

It was really nice turning heads. Boys who had never noticed me before were stopping to talk to me.

It was flattering, but also made me realize how superficial we all are. Them for not noticing me before and me for being flattered that they did now. I was still me under all of the makeup charms and nice clothes after all!

Mora insisted on instructing me all the way to Madame Puddifoots, which she insisted was a much better place to start than the Three Broomsticks.

"When we walk" she began, we may walk two abreast. We always stay to the right hand side so that those coming towards us are no obliged to move out of our way." The beauty of my friend is that she never thought anyone would want HER to move out of the way. You have to love her! "Men walk on the outside to protect you." I chose not to be offended (much) by the idea that I needed protecting.

One we got to the restaurant, my lessons continued.

"We eat from the outside in." She demonstrated picking up her salad fork and motioning to the rest of the silverware.

She taught me the proper way to use a napkin. Folded in lap immediately at a restaurant, not until the hostess does so at a formal party. Left lightly folded after a meal, never on chair. Never wipe your face with it. A lady should not have food on her face to start with.

She had me note that food was served from the left removed from the right.

I had never noticed how fancy Madame Puddifots was before this!

We eat from the left and drink from the right. All food on the left is mine, all drinks on the right are mine.

I was exhausted by the end of the meal! But I really did feel better. I felt like I could navigate basic rules of dining without embarrassing myself.

But it did make me realize how dreadful my manners had been at the Malfoy's. Next weekend I would be able to comport myself much better! Hogwarts really should offer classes on basic etiquette. I planned to bring it up to Professor McGonagall!

Frank's job was to show me how I was supposed to allow a man to assist me. How to have my coat removed properly. How to take an offered arm.

And that I was never, ever to respond to a man who called from me across the street. I thought back to Fred tossing a wadded up paper at Angelina to ask her to the Yule Ball. That was a definite no-no!

We also held a small dinner party in our dorm so that they could all instruct me in the duties of a hostess. It was actually lovely. I was really going to miss all of them when I left in a few weeks!

Apparently weeping at a formal party is a no-no as well.

What was really weird was that my friends were all taking this very seriously.

Did it have anything to do with Draco's surprise? Or maybe they just knew how many of these events I would have to sit through as a Malfoy wife and wanted me to be prepared.

Pria taught me to open my mouth slightly and widen my eyes to dry my tears instead of screwing up my face.

Draco seemed largely indifferent to my efforts "I love you the way you are." He told me repeatedly.

"Don't you worry that I will embarrass you at social events?" I fretted.

"Why?" he teased "Do you plan to run around biting random strangers?"

I slapped his arm and laughed. "No but I may bite YOU!"

"Save it for the honeymoon. Leave something to the imagination." Frank said from his flopped position on the floor.

We were all down in our special dungeons trying to decide how far we could reasonably get before I left school.

"If I waited for that I would have no fun at all" Draco pouted "Alya refuses to make an honest man of me."

"I am not refusing, I just want to wait until we are out of school and established. Is that so wrong?" I asked, seriously, was he really bothered by this?

"Only if you intend to with hold sex like Gamp is suggesting." Draco hugged me and kissed me on the forehead.

"Never that!" I clutched my heart in mock horror. But I was relieved. I absolutely want to marry him, but planning weddings and starting a marriage is time consuming. I did not want to put off my other plans while doing that when we already have an amazing relationship.

"Besides, I like introducing you as my fiancé. It makes you sound young and hot. Introducing you as my wife sounds…" I hit him with a cushion.

"I dare you to finish that sentence, Malfoy!" I threatened to hit him again.

"It makes you sound younger and hotter?" He suggested.

"Nice save, bro."

I threw the cushion at Frank and we all laughed.


	86. The Surprise

**Just so everyone is on the same page, all discussions about changes or adding drama are completely hypothetical. Long before I ever write a story I have an entire chapter outline done. I know exactly where this story is going and how it will end.**

Draco still wouldn't give me even the smallest hint about my surprise. I knew we were going somewhere because he had Esme, Mora and Pria pack bags for me, but he wouldn't even let me see what kind of clothes were packed so I did not even know warm or cold. They left a few things out to cover the next two days, so I could not even guess by what was left.

Finally that weekend arrived and Draco told me it was time to head out.

"Will you tell me NOW where we are going?" I asked excitedly.

"Nope." He held out a piece of cloth for me to blindfold my eyes with.

When I hesitated he asked teasingly "Don't you trust me?"

"With my life and my heart." I put my arms around his waist and let him blindfold me.

I have no idea where he led me exactly. I knew we were probably in Hogsmeade from the sounds, but no idea exactly where.

Finally he told me to put my hands on something that felt smooth and metal. He wrapped his arm around my waist securely and I felt the familiar pull of a portkey.

Where in Merlin's name were we going?! I was so excited.

When we stopped I tried to take the blindfold off, but he held my hands. "Not yet, I want it to be perfect."

I could smell the salt tang of the ocean. Were we at Shell Cottage? I would be able to see Fleur and Bill!

He asked me to step up a few times and then stopped and positioned me in front of him facing out before pulling off my blindfold gently.

The scene before me was spectacular!

The ocean was bluer than I had ever seen it, a deep dark sparkling blue, And where ever we were this was no Shell Cottage! It was some sort of resort. The most beautiful hotel I had ever been to. It was all brick and grapevines and on the little balcony where we were standing a full meal with wine and candles had been set out.

"Where are we? I asked breathlessly."

"Italy." He smiled down at me.

Italy! Portkeys to Italy were incredibly expensive!

Draco was watching me anxiously "Do you like it?"

"Oh, Draco, it is beautiful! I have never seen such a gorgeous hotel in my life!" I couldn't understand why he started laughing. "What?"

"This isn't a hotel, Alya." He smiled down at me.

I rolled my eyes "OK, Inn or hostel, or… whatever."

He laughed again "It isn't any of those either."

I stamped my foot, silly boy teasing me like that "Then what is it?"

He waved an arm around us dramatically "Home. At least while we are in Italy."

"H…home? As in you own it?" I was shocked.

"No, home as in WE own it. Any place without you isn't home, it is just a building." He said sincerely.

I couldn't help it, I started to cry. "Oh Draco, you are the most incredible fiancé ever. I keep forgetting that you are wealthy."

He shook his head at me "And that is one of the things I love about you. My money has never meant anything. I have a feeling you would marry me even if I was penniless."

"Money doesn't create love Draco. I would still marry you even if you had been sent to Azkaban without money." I hugged him tight.

"And how would that work?" he laughed "We wouldn't be together."

"Oh yes we would" I said firmly "I had already planned it out. I would have sneaked in as a snake and stayed with you. You can't believe I would have let you go through that alone?"

It was his turn to tear up, but he hid it well by turning to the table and lifting cloches off to reveal the most amazing dinner spread. We ate while discussing the little village we would visit tomorrow.

It turns out this was a wizarding village, much like Hogsmeade. He assured me it was quaint and that I would absolutely love it.

After dinner, he said he had one more surprise for me.

"Do I need to wear a blindfold again?" I teased.

"Not this time, follow me." He led me to a small grotto where I was surprised to see of all things a willow tree. I was confused until I looked up and saw…. My tree house! It was exactly the same!

I squealed and let go of his hand to run forward.

When I climbed inside it was just as I remembered, over stuffed engorged jumpers, tattered old books and all!

They couldn't be the exact same ones but still… I looked at him smiling in the doorway. "How… how did you get all of these?"

"Your friends and family all collected old books and your Mum sent over old jumpers. And look." He took me to the window where I could see the star map and telescope he had bought for my first tree house.

I looked out the window in tears "Oh Draco, this is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. I don't know what to say."

"Then say yes." I was confused until I turned around and saw him on one knee.

"Draco, we are already engaged." I smiled tenderly down at him.

"By someone else's actions. Not mine. Ours. I want you to say yes because you love me and cannot bear to be separated from me any more than I can you." He looked so sincere that tears sprang to my eyes again.

"Oh Draco, of course I will be happy to marry you! I want nothing more." He slipped the ring on me and I looked down at it.

It was perfect! Small gold band in the shape of a snakewith an emerald stone. I was surprised because the wedding ring did not match. That seemed so out of character for him. I looked at him quizzically.

"The engagement ring I had made for you. The band is an heirloom. It belonged to Eileen Prince. Professor Snape's mother… I thought he would want you to have it." He looked uncertain, but I wasn't!

I threw my arms around him and wept "It is perfect! Just what I wanted. Something with meaning and special!"

He hugged me tight while I cried "I am glad you approve.

We spent the next few days exploring the village and buying presents for everyone back home.

We made love on our own private beach and sat on sun warmed sand… after dark. I would hate to leave, but it was ours, we could return any time!


	87. Exam Results

We returned from Italy and I tried to keep everything as normal as possible while waiting for our exam results.

Tried and failed. I was far too nervous. This meant an early release of Ministry controlled actions for Draco. I learned later there had been a special hearing just to allow us the trip to Italy!

The Vipers and my family loved their little presents. I knew better than to get anything too expensive or outlandish for my parents. I got a new recipe book for Mum and a self stirring sauce pot. She loved both. They were the kinds of gifts everyone else got her.

Even though I tried to keep things relaxed and casual I was anything but.

Every owl that came in was a potential summons. Every question either of us did not know in class had us both stressing we had failed that part of the exam.

"I am a troll. I know I am a troll." I threw myself onto the couch after a grueling day that culminated in my failure to use the correct wand technique and setting the drapes on fire in charms class.

"You can always pray for a poltergeist attack or earthquake." Mora teased.

"That is SO not funny. I actually thought about bribing Peeves to interrupt my tests before I remembered I had already taken them!" I wailed.

"What would you even bribe a polytergeist with anyway?" Pria asked, laughing.

"Mrs. Norris?" suggested Mora.

"You are terrible." I told her laughing.

"Why are you even bothering to take classes still?" Asked Frank, popping a jelly bean in his mouth. Which he promptly spit out "Soap." He explained at my questioning look.

"Because if we don't pass we will have to stay in school and take them again at the end of the year." I informed him.

"Oh, that would be incredibly embarassing!" Esme said around a mouthful of chocolate. I wanted to whack my friends with books and tell them to stop eating while I was so miserable, but in my state I would have ended up dropping the books on my own head instead.

Draco wasn't in any better than I was. He was sniping at people, and Salazar help you if you interrupted him while he was studying. Goyle had tried to get him interested in firewhiskey one night while Draco was reading his potions book. Goyle ended up in a full body bind rolled under an old tarp until it wore off.

I just wanted it to be over, no matter what the results were. Even if I scored so poorly I would have to revisit that idea of moving to Atlantis with the merpeople!

That is… I wanted it to be over until the two official owls entered the Great Hall.

Then I wanted to go back in time where I was still worried. Because that worry made this worry look like it was calm and relaxed with no stress!

My hands shook as I took the very impressive looking envelope from the bird and dig into my handbag for an owl treat.

It would not have been so ad if everyone had not been watching, including the professors from their seats looking down upon us all.

I caught Professor McGonagall's eye and she gave me a small encouraging smile.

With my heart in my throat and sweaty palms I slowly opened the envelope.

Potions - Outstanding

Transfiguration - Outstanding

Alchemy – Exceeds Expectations

Herbology – Outstanding

Care of Magical Creatures - Outstanding

Arithmancy – Exceeds Expectations

My mouth dropped open. I got an O in four of my six exams! And I had not failed any of them. Could this be true?!

I squealed and showed off my letter to everyone. Several of the Slytherin's broke in to spontaneous applause. At the other tables several people were smiling and nodding. I knew why, they were all seventh years and this confirmed that the exams WERE passable!

I noticed Draco trying to hide his letter. My heart sank.

"Come on, Draco, it can't be that bad, please show me." I pleaded.

"I would really rather not." He hesitated.

"Please?" I batted my eyes the way Esme had shown me.

Slowly he handed it over and I opened it. I was shocked.

"No. No way. This is not possible… How? Why? What?" I was babbling but I couldn't seem to stop it.

Mora snatched the letter from my hand.

"You got an Outstanding in all seven exams?!" She exclaimed.

"Draco, that is wonderful!" Pria hugged him.

"How? I studied my arse off and you rarely cracked a book!" I cried. "How can you pass every single thing you took flawlessly?!" this was so unfair.

"I told you I would rather not share my results with you. You were the one who insisted I show you." His familiar smirk was back. As sexy as it was, I still wanted to smack him for it.

"Yeah, but that was when I thought you had failed!" I whined, causing him to laugh.

"Don't worry, love" he wrapped an arm around my waist "If you need to know anything just ask me and I will explain it to you. Using very small words."

The table erupted in laughter. This time I did smack his shoulder before kissing him.

"I am very proud of you Draco. Or I will be when I am done being horribly jealous of everything you do!" I added with a laugh.

The others who had taken their exams with us had also received their results. Everyone had passed all courses with at least an "Acceptable".

"This deserves a celebration." Draco announced. Party in the Slytherin common room.

"Everyone who wants to attend may." I announced.

Draco rolled his eyes but agreed "Yes, everyone from any house may join us." He was just upset because this meant no alcohol since all ages were allowed.

The party was outstanding! There was music and laughter and it all felt so peaceful and normal.

Even Lars and McDaniels and the other Gryffindor whose name I had never learned showed up. they were wise enough to stay far away from me. But they had friends who had taken the exam and dared the party even though McDaniels kept glancing at me before he took any bite or drink. Perhaps he expected me to cackle maniacally.

I kind of wanted to start cackling just to mess with him.


	88. The Offer

It would still be a couple of weeks before our scores were logged as "official" which meant for the time being we were encouraged to explore our career options.

I got several offers for employment at the Ministry, which I politely declined. I had no faith in the Ministry and I did not want to work for them.

I did start searching for offices in which to start my investing firm. I wanted to reach out to my Gringott's advisor, but I had a feeling he would view this as a betrayal.

Speaking of Gringott's, I was offered a financial advisor position there. It was tempting. Good money and I would be doing what I loved, helping others gain financial independence. Still, it would not be mine. I really wanted this to be all me. Well, I wanted it to be me and Draco, but he still had not decided what he wanted to do.

Draco was depressed that he had not received as many offers as he thought he would. And most of what he had received were from his father's old cronies, and he didn't trust any of them.

"Draco, don't worry so much. It is all going to work out. It isn't like either of us needs to work, and your Dad still wants you to focus on rebuilding Malfoy Industries." I tried to cheer him up.

He rubbed his face with his hands "That isn't the point Aly. After that stupid war and all of my father crap I have to work twice as hard and get the best grades to be considered half as good as anyone else." He looked down at the latest offer from the brother of a known Death Eater.

I had no idea what to say, I knew he was right.

"I should have had my pick of any Ministry position I want. I should be a top candidate for position of Minister. Now I will be lucky to be a clerk in the mailroom." He threw the letter across the room.

"Well, we aren't going to decide this tonight." I held my hand out to him "Let's go get something to eat and we will decide our futures later."

"No, you go ahead, I am not really hungry." He gave me a reassuring smile "Go on, it will be alright, like you said, we don't have to work." I guess I must have not looked convinced still because he said "Go eat, Aly. One of us should."

He was right, and nothing would be solved right now. I was hungry so I agreed, but I felt like the world's worst girlfriend, or worse, Ron.

When I got to the door and opened it, I was surprised to see both Harry and Ron standing in front of it! Did my hunger conjure them? Next time I was determined to think of bangers and mash before I opened a door.

Ron laughed as I continued to stare at them slack jawed. "Hasn't seen me since summer and she is so overwhelmed that she can't speak."

"Well, to be fair" Harry smiled down at me "she never did speak much to me anyway."

I laughed with them "Oh be quiet you! That is so not true. Do I look like Ginny?"

Harry blushed as I hugged both of them.

"Are you going to invite us in?" Ron asked, peeking past me.

"Oh fine, but try not to catch any of the evil, we Slytherin's are a bad influence, you know." It was OK for me to laugh with family and friends about it.

As I moved aside Harry and Ron both stepped in. Draco was just coming down the stairs to ask me who I was talking to. He froze "Potter, Weasley." He was pretty tense at having them here.

Both nodded at him. "Malfoy who defiled my sister." Ron replied, and just like that the tension was eased.

"You are right on that score." To illustrate just how defiled I was, Draco grabbed me by the hair and pulled me back for a deep kiss.

If my brother and Harry hadn't been standing there I would have demanded he carry me off to the bedroom.

Draco smirked down at my bemused face in what should have been an absurdly, annoyingly, arrogant way. I let him have his victory, he had earned it. Looking over at Harry and Ron he grumbled "What do you two want?" Good, he was just as affected by the kiss as I was.

"We've come with an offer." Harry said grinning at him. I knew Harry liked to annoy Draco as much as Draco annoyed him.

"Well make it a good offer and fast, we have plans." We did? When Draco pulled me against him I could feel his arousal. Oh, those plans!

"The thing is…" Ron started and then stopped.

"The Ministry wants you to be an auror. Enough so that I suspect they have been blocking any other offers you may have otherwise received." Harry finished.

"They WHAT? This whole time I have been thinking the world has finally decided I am unredeemable and they have been…." He stopped and narrowed his eyes "Why do they want me to be an auror?" he asked slowly. He suspected something, I knew he did.

"Well… see… it is like this…" That was Ron all over, the eloquent speaker.

"No, wait, let me." Draco interrupted. "The Ministry is having trouble catching Death eaters that ran and they thought having their very own Death Eater in their pocket would be handy?"

"Ex-Death Eater." I whispered. Draco squeezed my hand reassuringly. "But Draco, you are wrong. There is no way my own brother and our dearest family friend would ask you to risk your life like this. To risk my losing you. Not after everything we have both done. Not after all I have lost. Tell him Ron. Tell him Harry! Tell him this was just a heads up. That you aren't asking Draco to do this?" I was near hysterical. Draco wrapped an arm around me to calm me.

When Ron looked uncomfortable and Harry looked at the floor I knew they were asking exactly this.

"No! Absolutely NOT! Tell them to bugger off, Draco. Tell them…" Draco kissed my forehead to quiet me.

"Alya… these men and women are dangerous. They are looking for revenge." Harry said sadly. "They are going after anyone who worked against them. There have been… threats."

"I don't care! I don't care if it is me that is being threatened I…" looking at their faces, I suddenly realized… "Me. They are coming after me."

"You helped people get out of the castle. You organized a secret resistance and testified against the worst of them and…" Harry hesitated looking at Draco.

"And you testified to keep me out of Azkaban. My parents too. That hasn't made you popular…" Draco looked at me evenly.

"You KNEW! You knew there was a problem!" I accused.

"I suspected, based on the friends of my father's that were contacting me, yes." He admitted.

"Why did you keep this from me?" I wasn't angry, just sad.

"Because you are reckless and you and those damned friends of yours would have done something!" He looked at me miserably.

"Damned right we would… we will!" Frank said from the stairs. "You mess with one Viper, you mess with us all! And I deserve to get pay back for James." Frank and I looked at each other sadly. We both missed him so much. My friend, my first boyfriend, my Watson.

"No, you won't." Draco interrupted looking at harry and Ron "Tell them I accept."


	89. Final Weeks of School

I had two more weeks with Draco before he was off to start Auror training. He was not really allowed to talk about what his training would consist of, and to be honest? I really did not want to talk about it.

I understood why he was doing it, but I just wanted all of that behind us. I wanted to live nice quiet lives. Get married, have children, grow old together. This seemed like the exact opposite of all of my hopes and dreams.

I cried quite a bit, but I never tried to talk him out of it. I knew he just wanted to feel forgiven and accepted again. He would hold me when I cried and promise no matter what he would always come back to me.

Harry promised me he would never be left alone on assignment. I felt a little more reassured, but only a little. Harry was smart enough to fear my wrath if anything happened to Draco.

We spent that weekend having dinner with my family, they were all very pleased with Draco's decision. Ron looked guilty. Good, he should. He was ripping Draco away from me just as we were ready to start our lives!

At least he would still be coming back to our flat on weekends and when he wasn't working. Our flat. Just the idea of being able to admit that out loud made me very happy.

The next weekend we spent with the Malfoys. They were a lot less impressed than my family had been. Narcissa cried and Lucius told me I should have at least tried to talk him out of it. The dinner ended with me in tears and Draco forcing his father to apologize.

I hugged Narcissa at the end begged her not to hate me for this.

"My dear, we could never hate you. You have been a blessing to our family. You kept Draco from Azkaban, and even spoke up on our behalf. Do I wish Draco had not chosen this foolish course? Yes, I absolutely do. But I know you can no more control him than I can control Lucius." She glared at her husband behind me.

Lucius patted my back and promised he would always be my biggest fan. At least until I provided him with a grandchild. And then he would be my child's biggest fan. I rolled my eyes and we all laughed.

The Vipers and I were determined to make the most out of our final time together. They went with me everywhere except to Draco's room, of course.

We did not go back to the dungeons. We had special plans for that trip. We went to visit Hagrid, without Draco. We visited Hogsmeade and stuffed ourselves on sweets and butterbeer.

We even visited Fred and George at their shop. I was a little surprised t see Fred teasing Pria. It was almost like flirting. It would be lovely to see them together, but Fred can be a bit of a playboy, so I didn't hold out much hope. I just hoped he did not break my friend's heart. I would hate to succeed at what that wall tried to do!

We spent several nights talking about what our plans truly were after school.

Pria, Esme and Mora planned to start their own shop offering everything from perfumes to cosmetic charms and fashion.

I thought it was a brilliant idea. I offered to help them with startup capital. They were grateful, but it turns out they already had what they needed.

Pria's permanent lipstick had never turned out well as a regular cosmetic, but it turned out it was an amazing prank! Fred and George had put in a large order and with their savings they now had enough to purchase a small shop and get started.

Pria blushed when she told me that she and Fred had "negotiated" a price. I sighed. Well, Pria is a big girl, hopefully she knows how to handle my brother.

"We never would have thought to do any of this without your encouragement!" Mora exclaimed hugging me. "You were our first and best customer. You can buy anything 20% off!"

"10%" Pria interrupted, making us all laugh.

I looked over at Frank. He was so sad looking. Then I remembered, he and James had planned to be in business together. And now with no James he looked lost.

Alya to the rescue! "Frank… I know you had a lot of other plans and opportunities, but with Draco going in to Aurora training," I squeezed Draco's hand "I don't know how I will manage my investing firm on my own. I don't suppose you would consider helping me? It would be Wesley, Malfoy and Gamp Investing."

"That would be Malfoy, Malfoy and Gamp." Draco lifted my hand and kissed my knuckle above my ring.

"Right, Malfoy, Malfoy and Gamp." I smiled tenderly back at Draco. He was not exactly pressuring me to get married immediately, but did like to remind me that we are absolutely getting married!

Frank laughed, only a little bitter. "You don't need MY help. You know more about investing than most goblins."

"About investing, yes. But I don't do well with the people part. I need someone who can talk to them, you know? Do the whole getting them to spend money to start with part." Actually this was very true I realized as I said it. I actually DID need Frank!

"hmmm…" Frank seemed to be considering something. "Shouldn't it be Gamp, Malfoy and Malfoy? Just to keep everything in alphabetical order?"

I laughed and Draco threw a wadded up scrap of parchment at him.

"NO!" I said still laughing, "It should be she who can turn into a snake and bite you who goes first."

Everyone else laughed at that.

"Hey! You can't use the bitey snake thing to win every argument you know!" Frank complained.

"Who says? I think it is an excellent idea! My dinner served cold? No problem, bite the waiter. Line for club too long… OK, it might be hard to bite all of them." I pondered the logistics of biting an entire line of people.

"You would find a way I am sure." Frank groused.

We laughed again and all went to bed.

We had plans for our final day, so I made certain to pack well ahead of time. Draco used to floo in the Headmistresses office to take our belongings back to our flat.

We spent that Friday night at our flat and had a quiet dinner. It was a little somber because we would be spending the next six weeks apart, but we more than made up for any time we would spend apart. I was reasonably certain I would not be able to walk straight for the entire six weeks he was gone!

Saturday morning I returned to Hogwarts. Draco would be staying at school that night and returning Sunday to our home until he started work on Monday.

"The time will fly" he reassured me "and you will be too busy setting up business with Frank to miss me for even a moment."

I wrapped my arms around his waist "I will miss you every single moent we are apart. Don't do anything reckless."

"You haven't forgotten who you are talking to have you? I don't have Potter's hero complex. Don't forget, Aurors will be stationed discretely to protect you. If anyone should be given a warning about reckless behavior, it is YOU!"

And just like that he was gone.

I got everything prepared for the next day.


	90. The Memorial

The next morning all of the Vipers grabbed the objects we had prepared and went down to our private rooms in the dungeons.

I had a book and a small statue. Frank was carrying a stuffed animal. Pria had a Slytherin tie. Mora was carrying a framed picture. Esme had a quill.

We had all dressed in black, and we girls were wearing veils.

"Are you sure you are OK going with us?" I asked Draco, hesitating. This may be a bit awkward for him.

"I am certain that I want to go, but I want to give you this first. Potter gave it to me when he was here and told me to find the right time to give it to you. I suspect he made me do it because he was afraid you may cry. He really can be a coward you know." Even when being supportive and sweet if Harry's name was brought up he could not resist a dig.

I sighed in exasperation. "Draco…"

He grinned telling me he knew what he was doing and that he was trying to take my mind off of the day's events. I totally loved him for it, but this time it wasn't going to work.

He handed me a small vial. I wish I could say I did not know what it was, today was rough enough. Professor Snape's memories. I teared up. I really wanted to watch these, but I had one thing to do first.

I pulled out the statue I had brought and after carefully examining the framed photo Mora had, I used a transfiguration spell. Now, James Gamp was immortalized in stone before us. His hand was out as if to hold something between his fingers. Esme put the quill in his hand.

James used a few household spells on the tattered old stuffed kneazel. "There" he said, his voice cracking "Now he will have Merlin forever."

Pria tied the Slytherin tie carefully around James' neck. Mora set up the framed photo. All of us were smiling happily in it. It was fourth year and we were just enjoying a winter's day at Hogsmeade.

I put the book I was carrying, the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on the dais in front of James.

"Draco is the love of my life" I whispered to him in the photo "but you will always be my Watson. I wish I had ever told you that no one would ever replace you as my dear friend."

All of us stood back and looked at our little memorial. We held each other and wept for the innocence we had lost and the very brave man who had given his life making certain other's were safe.

When we left I cast a spell that would seal our old room. All of the memories we had of card games and solving little mysteries would remain ours and ours alone for as long as that spell lasted.

After that, no one wanted to talk much. We made our way back to the common room.

"Do you want to watch those memories now?" Draco asked quietly "Professor McGonagall said the Headmaster's pensieve is available for you whenever you are ready."

"A little later." I whispered, nodding towards Frank "Right now, he needs me more."

Draco nodded "I have to leave. I want to get home and be rested before tomorrow."

I hugged and kissed him goodbye. "I will be in our flat on Monday. And I will see you in six weeks."

"Harry said you can keep those." Draco motioned towards the vial I was holding "He thought Snape would have liked that."

"Professor Snape" I automatically corrected, causing him to smile.

We Vipers spent the next several hours reminiscing and laughing and celebrating our friendship. I knew it would be one that lasted forever.

Frank and I went over the properties I had selected. He made a recommendation based on closeness to the Ministry.

"You may not want to work there, but you can't deny that is where most of our clients will come from." He explained.

I couldn't argue with that logic. "Make an offer on it tomorrow." I told him. I had already allocated a large sum to be placed in a Vault for the business.

He nodded. I knew it would help him take his mind off of things.

Speaking of things on someone's mind… I made my way towards the Headmistresses office.

Professor McGonagall met me with an empathetic smile. I entered the office that I had not been in since it had been Professor Snape's. I used the floo in the staff's room specifically to avoid this office.

I looked at all of the portraits of the past Headmaster's. Professor Dumbledore smiled at me kindly. Professor Snape… my throat constricted looking at his portrait… just watched me from over tented fingers the way he always had.

Professor McGonagall led me to the pensieve quietly and respectfully.

I stopped to look up at Professor Snape. I felt a hand on my shoulder. "He really cared about you Miss Weasley." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat "I just thought you should know that."

I smiled a little watery at Professor Snape. "I really cared about you too Professor."

The portrait gave me a small smile.

I walked over to the pensieve and poured the contents in.

Placing my face in the water depths I prepared myself for what was to come.

I fell into what was obviously Professor Snape's office. He was sitting in a chair looking at a chair directly across from him. "Sit down Miss Weasley."

I was so startled, I sat as instructed without thinking about it. "No, I am not somehow alive, you know that no spell can truly bring back the dead."

"Yes Professor" I whispered.

"But the pensieve and my own memories allowed me to record this message for you. In all of the time I have been at this school, you were one of the very few students I ever truly felt like was MY student. You believed in me, perhaps foolishly, when all rational thought should have told you that I was not to be trusted. You will never know how your belief kept me going in those final days. I know how much that faith cost you. I watched you time and again struggle with your conscience and the things you were being asked to do. I hope you can understand now why I was always so hard on you. I knew you would have to be strong for the final days of the war." He paused and looked off into the distance.

"I always understood Professor." I choked back sobs.

"I want you to go on, to be something great. I want you to love and to laugh and to truly live. If you want to honor my memory you will do me this final service." If I moved just right it felt like he was looking into my eyes.

"I want you to know that I went to my death knowing there was one person who truly cared about me as a person, not as a former Death Eater they could use, or as a current Death Eater to be used and disposed of when I was no longer convenient. The Dark Lord is summoning me. I believe he intends to kill me. I hope to get to Harry Potter before that happens to give him these memories. I will use every trick at my disposal. I will promise to bring the boy to him. But if I cannot… perhaps you will never see these words… but just know, if I had ever had a daughter with… well, if I had ever had a daughter I would have wanted her to be just like you. There are more memories in here for you to see, it is my hope that they will bring you comfort in the days to come. Be well, Alya Weasley. I hope that I will be able to see my Lilly in the afterlife." I was sobbing so hard I could no longer see him through the tears.

"Good bye Professor, you were one of the best things to have ever happened to me at this school. I wish I had been able to tell you that. I wish you and I had the time we needed to become true friends after I left school. I will never forget you." I could not bear to see any more and pulled myself from the pensieve.

Professor McGonagall was there to hand me a wet cloth to wipe my face.

"You were very important to Severus." She repeated "I think he always saw a bit of himself in you. You have a real knack for seeing the better nature in people Miss Weasley. For seeing things that others miss. I hope in the years to come you never lose that trait."

I had no idea she felt that way about me! "Thank you Professor. And thank you for giving me this moment. Professor Snape meant the world to me. He listened during a time when I felt no one else would. I am not sure you Professor's ever fully appreciate or understand the profound affect you can have on someone. Especially frightened loners."

She looked at me surprised and clearly touched.

"I shall endeavor to live up to the example my predecessor set for me, Miss Weasley." She wiped her eyes. "I shall truly miss having you at this school. When your sister graduates that will be the final Weasley here for quite some time." She sniffed again "Good Godrick, I do believe I will even miss your brothers. Although I will personally see to it that your exams are scored as Troll in every level if you ever tell them such a shocking thing."

We both laughed at that.

I left that office feeling much better than I had in a long time. A weight I didn't even know I had been carrying seemed lifted from my shoulders.

.


	91. Happy Changes

I moved out of Hogwarts the next day. It was so strange to think that I would not be returning there as a student. But I was also excited for the future!

I spent the next few weeks working on starting our business. The paper work I had to file with officious little jerks at the Ministry. Ugghhh…. I was so annoyed by them.

And I was annoyed by myself as well. Every time something did not go right I broke down into tears. I had been so certain that I had worked through everything in that last day. I was certain I had full closure. I said my goodbyes to James and Professor Snape.

I said good bye to all of my friends. My Professors had turned out to congratulate me. I made my plans to return for the graduation ceremony in June.

There was no reason for me to be so damned weepy. I despised weepy weak women! How did I suddenly become one?

I had been spending a lot of time with Mum as well. I guess because I was suddenly on my own I wanted to feel like I still had my support system in place.

And as if all of this wasn't bad enough, I had a horrible flu. I was throwing up all of the time. I owled Draco and he suggested for at least the time being I stay with my mum and not in our flat.

I really didn't want to, but I was feeling so weak that I really didn't have any choice.

It was still a week before Draco would return home from training. I was worried that if I didn't get better I would have to stay away from him. I didn't want to risk getting him sick when he was working so hard.

"Mum, I am not sure what is wrong with me! I just can't seem to shake this flu." I was lying on the couch with a blanket wrapped around me.

Mum came over and felt my forehead. "You don't have a fever." She pulled over a chair and sat next to me holding my hand. "Tell me everything you have been feeling.

"Well, every day I wake up sick. It gets better, but I still feel so weak and tired all day." I moaned.

"I see, and have you been unusually emotional lately?" she laid a cold rag on my forehead.

She was so wonderful! I don't know what I would do without her. Just the thought of losing her was enough to make me start crying.

She smiled down at me "I will take that as a 'yes' then."

That made me angry! "I am glad you can find something to smile about when your daughter is lying here on the couch practically dying." I shouted, and then I was suddenly sorry. How could I shout at my mother? I started crying again. "I am so sorry Mum, I don't know what is wrong with me. I want Draco to come home, but I don't want to get him sick."

"Oh" she hummed "I doubt you will make Draco sick. I am pretty certain he is the one who made YOU ill."

"That is not possible, he wasn't sick when he left and has not complained to me about being sick during training. And believe me, he can complain!" I remember once in fifth year he got a cold. Merlin, but you would have thought he was at death's door!

"I think we should make an appointment with Healer Bhatia." She smiled down at me.

Healer Bhatia had been my healer since I was a little girl. She had smoothed every scrape and bump and childhood hero and always kept my favorite lollies on hand.

"OK, Mum." It was all I could manage before I had to run to the loo and vomit again.

The next day Mum flooed me to Saint Mungos to see Healer Bhatia. I had to run to a potted plant to vomit. What was going on? Flooing never made me ill!

Mum scourgified the plant and then me. "Thanks Mum." I was miserable and now I was embarrassed. This was it, I was going to be stuck in this awful hospital once again!

That wasn't fair the hospital had been good to me when I was recovering from addiction. I started crying again. "What is wrong with me Mum?" I was horrified.

"If I am correct, nothing is wrong with you… oh, hello Healer Bhatia." Mum called as we walked in to the healer's office.

"Good morning Mrs. Weasley. Good morning Alya, your mother tells me you have been experiences some symptoms."

"That is one way of putting it." I groaned.

"Well, we will have you straightened out soon. Here, take this potion and then I want you to urinate in this cup." She handed me a cup so small there was no way I was going to be able to hit the mark, and I told her so grumpily.

"Oh. I am sure you will manage." She smiled.

All of these horribly cheerful people made me sick. Literally. I ran for the loo.

"Drink the potion and use the cup before you are done." Healer Bhatia called after me cheerfully. Bitch.

I managed it all, but just barely. And when I was done, I screamed. My urine was PURPLE! That could not be right.

"Alya, just come out, everything is alright." Mum called. Like she knew something had happened. Well… I did just scream…

I came out of the loo "Everything is most certainly NOT alright mother. My urine is PURPLE! Is that a sign of dragon pox?" I asked healer Bhatia fearfully.

"No." she laughed "It is the sign that you are with child, Alya."

"Come again?" No way had I heard that last bit correctly.

Mum was weeping "You are going to have a baby Alya, you and Draco will have to bump up the wedding date, but oh I am so happy!"

I sat down in the chair hard. "How… how can this have happened?"

"Alya" Healer Bhatia said patiently, "I know you and I went over how babies come to be."

"Oh ha ha. No I mean, Draco and I always use protection. I always cast my charm."

Well, except for that night before we left. I forgot. I cast it later, but… well… clearly that had not been enough.

"This is not the best time for me to have a child!" I whined. "I am just starting a business. Draco is in training. We are too young. Merlin, I couldn't even keep my houseplants alive! Every one of them died! Brown and shriveled and dead! I am going to be a horrible mother!" I was terrified.

"Alya, you are going to be a wonderful mother." Mum reassured me.

"I heal patients and I killed my philodendron." Healer Bhatia told me cheerfully.

"That does NOT reassure me!" It didn't reassure me when they both laughed either. I was glad they found this so funny!

I left the Healer's office with several potions for what was apparently morning sickness and not dragon pox.

I wanted Draco to come home! If I was suffering by Merlin he would too!


	92. Sharing the News with Draco

Draco returned one week later. The potions had made me well enough that I was able to greet him happily.

And happy I was. It had only been six weeks, but he looked more toned and… had his smile always been that sexy? Had his eyes always been so grey and piercing?

I had barely greeted him at the door when I dragged him off to the bedroom.

"Wow." He said much later "You must have really missed me!"

We were lying on the bed with him propped up on our headboard and my head on his chest. I never wanted to leave this bed. I was so happy having him home.

"I did, I am so happy you are home. I am not sure I could have taken another week with you gone!" I kissed him happily again.

I ran my hand up his stomach. Salazar, was his stomach this toned when he left? I threw my leg over his thighs causing him to laugh.

"Alya, not that I am not absolutely delighted that you are so happy to see me, but if I don't get some water and food in me I am going to perish on the spot." He looked at me guilty and kissed my forehead. "I am sorry I forgot you have been sick. Do you need some juice, or soup. What can I get for you, love?"

I took his hand and put it on my belly. "I am not sick Draco."

"You aren't? But you have been throwing up and staying at your Mum's. If you aren't sick what is wrong?" Bless him, but he looked adorable when he was confused. I ran my hand up his bare thigh causing him to lightly slap it away.

"Behave yourself." He laughed.

"Nothing is wrong. You are going to be a father." I smiled uncertainly. How would he take this news? I knew he wanted children, but we had never discussed when.

He was so quiet I was getting worried. "Draco… I know we never talked about how soon we would be having children. And I know we aren't even married yet. And you are still a new hire as an Auror. And I know…"

"I am going to be a father?" he whispered in awe, interrupting my self doubt "Are… are you certain?"

I nodded "I went to see Healer Bhatia, she confirmed it. It was probably that night just before you left. I must have cast the charm too late and…"

"I am going to be a father!" This time he said it loudly and happily.

I nodded in relief. He was happy about this! "Yes, and I am probably going to be the worst mother since I can't even keep the houseplants alive." I pointed to the wilting fern in the corner.

"You are going to be an amazing mother. And I swear to you, there will be no child more loved than this one." He spread his hand protectively over my tummy.

"I love you Draco. There is no one else I would agree to be this miserably sick for. And please don't take this as a reflection of your declaration…" I jumped up and ran to the loo to vomit.

Draco came in and held my hair back for me, wiping my face and mouth when I was done.

"Is it normal to be this sick?" he sounded really worried.

"Doctor Bhatia says it is normal, just extraordinarily horrible morning sickness. Except it comes on whenever it feels like. Oh, and I cry like ALL the time." I looked at him sadly.

"I won't go on assignment then, I will stay here and take care of you and.." I interrupted putting my finger on his lips.

"Draco what you are doing is important. They need you. If you want to stay home I absolutely want you to. I never wanted you to leave to start with. But please don't stay home because I am having a baby. Lots and lots of families all over the world survive the first months of pregnancy just fine. And both of them even still work and…" I stopped when he started shaking his head no.

"Absolutely not, Alya. You will not be working. At all. I will send one of our houselves to take care of you and that is final." He certainly looked as though he thought that was the final word.

How cute.

"Draco Malfoy, I am not some simpering fragile little princess. I am perfectly capable of running my business… when not vomiting that is. And Frank needs this. We may not need to work, but he does." So there!

"Alya, you are not responsible for your Vipers futures. You are, however, responsible for our child's future. And you can start that by taking care of yourself." Merlin, he was planning to be stubborn about this.

"What if I hire an assistant? Someone who can do all of the leg work? I will sit in the office and run numbers and that is all. Will that satisfy your need to be so damned controlling?" I was in the mood to pout.

He was in the mood to pamper me and kissed me on the forehead. "As long as I approve of them, AND as long as you don't overdo it I will agree. Tentatively. But if you get over tired or stressed in any way I will pull the plug. That is my final offer, take it or leave it."

"Fine, but this flat is not going to be big enough for three of us. We need a bigger place." At least I could control where I lived!

Or not. "I agree, why don't I have my mother start looking for a bigger place for us?" He smiled as if it were the most brilliant plan in the world.

Buggering arseface!

"NO! I will be looking for my own home." He looked taken back and a little hurt by my outburst. Which made me promptly start crying into his chest while he hheld me confused.

"I am so sorry, Healer Bhatia said all of these mood swings are normal too. I keep getting angry and crying and vomiting. You had better hope I am carrying a litter because I am never doing this again." I was dreading the next seven and a half months!

"I want to go with you to your next appointment. There is no way you should be this miserable. I insist that you be happy carrying my child!" For some reason his arrogance tickled me and I started giggling until I hiccupped.

"That's my girl. And don't worry about everything else. We will get married as soon as possible. Of course you should choose your own home. It was thoughtless of me to suggest otherwise." He hugged me gently.

I ran a hand across his bum "Hey, Auror, show a girl a good time?"

"I already showed you a good time. Twice. Four times depending on how you are counting. And should we be having sex? Can it harm the baby?" Merlin, was this going to be my life for the next half a year? Draco being insufferably over protective.

"As long as we aren't swinging from the chandeliers we are fine Draco." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well then…" he scooped me up and laid me out on the bed covering me.

"I thought that you needed to rehydrate?" I giggled.

"I can drink water any time. Right now I have other plans for my morning." He kissed my neck.

He had the best plans!

.


	93. Life in Crisis

I hired a lovely older man named Donald Kuykendal who had a real knack for numbers and knew what the elite wanted. He was a muggleborn from wealthy a wealthy muggle family and really understood finances.

Draco approved of him, after a thorough background check, of course. He was incredibly particular and had turned down four others before finally approving of this one. He did not want anyone who had ties to the wrong side of the war working for me. A talented muggleborn was ideal he said because it showed that our firm held no old prejudices.

I asked if we had not just finished a war to prove that blood doesn't matter and that it should not matter if someone is pureblood, halfblood or muggleborn. He called me wonderfully, beautifully naïve and kissed me to make up for it.

Whatever, I was just happy he was letting me work at all.

Well, I was happy except for his insistence that I wasn't allowed to lift anything heavier than my herbal tea and a sheet of paper. He made it clear to both Frank and Donald that he would peel the flesh from their bones I worked harder than a very specific schedule of rest breaks and lie down time that he and Healer Bhatia had crafted at my last appointment. They both readily agreed and now I didn't have just one man hovering, I had three. At least frank was still in school and would only be there on the odd weekend.

I had just taken my prescribed tea break, Healer Bhatia had a potion crafted to be poured into a tea for me that would help my queasiness, which was just beginning to fade when the first cramp hit me.

I paused and waited. One cramp was not a big deal.

When the second one hit I was reduced to screaming. That was how Donald found me. Others from the nearby offices came running in as well. Someone sent an owl to Draco while the others got me to St. Mungos.

I was in a panic. I couldn't lose my baby! I was having cramp after cramp. No blood, I checked. That had to be a good sign, right?

Healer Bhatia ordered me sedated and even though I struggled, if I was going to lose my baby I wanted to be awake! I had to say goodbye. Blackness closed in on me as spread my hand over my stomach as though I could protect my baby with my sheer will alone.

I woke sometime later. Draco was sitting next to me looking exhausted and pale.

"The baby?" I choked out "Did I lose the baby?"

"No, but it was close. The healer said that somehow your raspberry tea got mixed up with raspberry leaf tea. The combination of the tea and the potion almost caused a miscarriage but they were able to save the baby." He placed a hand on my belly.

I cried with relief. "How long was I out, a few hours?"

"Love… it has been a week. They had to keep you sedated to keep your body from any more stress. Even moving could have done serious damage." He rubbed my hand.

I stared at him in shock. "A… a week? I don't even remember dreaming…"

"Dreams could have made you move. You were given dreamless sleep potions." He looked so exhausted.

"But… we are OK now?" I had to know.

"You will be just fine, Miss Weasley." I heard from the door.

"Oh, Healer Bhatia! Thank you so much for saving my baby!" I would owe this woman a debt that could never be repaid.

"That is what I am here for." She smiled and held up a sealed scroll "Are you ready for the results?"

"Results?" I was confused "I know that I am pregnant, still pregnant thanks to you… what results?"

"We know the sex of your baby. Mr. Malfoy wanted to wait for you to be awake before he knew so you could share the news together." She handed him the scroll. "I will leave you two alone with your happy news."

Draco smiled down at me "Shall I?" he held his finger over the wax seal.

I nodded excitedly and he opened the scroll.

He immediately had tears in his eyes. "A girl. We are having a little girl." He placed his hand on my belly again "Daddy's little princess."

I cried into his chest, but this time they were tears of joy. We were having a little girl.

"Miranda." I whispered. "It is a star, and I know your mother will like that. And I want her middle name to be Lucia, after your father."

He rolled his eyes "Of course you do. But the name is beautiful. Miranda Lucia Malfoy."

We held hands and talked of the future. How we would decorate the nursery. Whether she should have my coloring or his. We had a happy argument over who had the prettiest eyes.

"But your eyes are the first thing I noticed about you." I protested. "They are what attracted me to you. Although I absolutely denied that I noticed your eyes at all."

"I remember how serious you were I wanted to make you smile just once." He had tears in his eyes again.

"Draco, you have made me smile every day since I met you." I wiped his tears with my thumb.

"Even when I acted stupid and hurt your feelings?" He asked with a smile.

"Well… yes, but mostly I was smiling because I was plotting revenge." We both laughed.

"Ah yes, I remember those days." A very cultured voice called from the door. "A cynical old man in the body of a twelve year old girl."

Lucius and Narcissa were in the doorway with armloads of flowers. I held my hand out to my mentor and future father in law. He sat down his bouquet and immediately came forward to take my hands in his "I am so glad you have come. Both of you." I held out a hand to Narcissa. "But how did you know?"

"The Malfoy Family Tree changed. It showed a new member." Narcissa explained smiling. "We knew at once that we had a grandchild on the way."

"And that she would be my namesake! But when we got to your office they told us you were here and why. Are you feeling better my dear?" Lucius smiled happily.

Before I could respond Draco interrupted "She will have your middle name, father, that does not make her your namesake." Draco rolled his eyes. He was tolerant and amused by the bond I shared with his father, but he did not want to share his daughter clearly!

"Oh, do stay out of this Draco. Don't you have some criminals you could be apprehending while I spend time with my future daughter?" Draco just rolled his eyes again.

"We must start planning the wedding right away, of course! Oh I have so many ideas!" Narcissa was beaming at me.

"I am sorry mother, but it won't be soon. Healer Bhatia wants Alya on bed rest for the next couple of months at least. No stress at all." Draco said sadly

"Oh, pish, I can handle the arrangements, I am certain Molly will have some ideas as well!" Narcissa dragged Lucius from room citing all of the people she needed to contact.

Draco and I just smiled at each other.

.


	94. Bed Rest

For a bit, being waited on by my adoring fiancé was quite lovely.

And by 'a bit' I mean for about two hours. Honestly? I am surprise I lasted that long.

"I am perfectly capable of running our business from our bed, Draco Malfoy!" I could not believe how utterly unreasonable he was being! He had set me up in a pretty little cage. I had everything I wanted. Plenty of books and financial papers, and a house elf at my beck and call.

It was horrid! I was going to go mad inside a week, let alone for the next couple of months!

"You are also perfectly capable of NOT running our business from our bed, Alya Weasley!" He kissed me and set down new magazines for me to read over. "Mum wants you to choose your colors."

I threw one of the stupid wedding magazines across the room. "Why can't we just call in an official and do it here? I don't need a big fancy expensive wedding." I pouted. "All I want is to be your wife."

That statement earned me another kiss. "We cannot call in an official and "just do it here" because our mothers will poison your tea."

He was probably correct. They were making an effort to be civil while they planned my wedding, but the two had very different ideas about what a "proper" wedding looked like.

Mum wanted me married in Weasley tradition at the Burrow. Narcissa wanted to plan the event of the year. From the swatches, samples and plans she had sent over, she may even be going for the event of the century.

"The Weasley's have had plenty of children carry on their tradition." She had said with only a tiny amount of annoyance. I was glad she was making an effort to stay civil "Draco is my only child and I will see him married in an appropriate venue."

Yeah… if I took away their joy of fighting over the matter, they probably would poison me. I took solace in the fact that they would probably wait until after Miranda was born to spike my tea with arsenic.

"Fine, but just let me go over expense reports, that can't be too strenuous! Meet me halfway!" I pleaded.

"I have met your more than halfway. You are at home instead of in a private hospital room." Oh yes, that had been quite the battle. "Now settle down and read wedding magazines like a good little pureblood bride-to-be.

I glared at him.

"I will remind you, they did not call me the Slytherin Princess. I am the Slytherin Queen. I do not need rescuing or to be a 'good little' anything." I grumbled, making him laugh.

"Frank has a few days off, I will send him to you and you may order him about to your heart's content." He promised before heading off to work.

So I read magazines. I sampled bloody wedding cake samples. I approved colors and textures. Not because I cared about a single one of those things, but because it was better than losing my damned mind.

It wasn't that my room was not pleasant, or that I hated wedding stuff. I just wasn't used to being so inactive.

I patted my tiny little baby bump "You had better be the best behaved child in the world after all the trouble you are causing me young lady!"

Merlin, I sounded like my mother.

True to his word, Draco sent Frank to visit me. I was so happy to see him. He hugged me gently and patted my tummy. "We now have a second generation of Vipers started." He smiled pleased.

"Now all we need is for you and Esme to graduate and get settled and start creating a best friend for my daughter! Maybe a boy so we can plan a wedding for them!" I was so excited to think about my child and my friends' children being best friends. I pictured them all in Slytherin finishing the maps we had started on in the dungeons.

I was so lost in my thoughts I did not notice Frank staring uncomfortably at his shoes. When I did I was on immediate alert.

"What did you do?" I was immediately suspicious.

"I may or may not have suggested she was spending too much time with your brother George…." He said to his shoes.

"May or may not? Or did?" Men. I swear.

"OK… did." He mumbled.

"George has a girlfriend! One he is crazy about! They are talking marriage. And Esme is just trying to get her business off the ground. You know, like WE are?!" I tried to calm down, shouting wasn't good for me, but there was no time like the present for Miranda to learn boys are idiots.

"It might have been nice of someone to tell me that before I picked a fight over it!" Oh how defensive Franks sounds when he is WRONG!

"Frank Gamp, you make up with Esme right now! You beg her to take your sorry arse back and never ever do something so stupid again!" I can't believe I even had to tell him this.

He nodded eagerly and we got down to business deciding where to advertise who to reach out to and what were the hottest stocks to suggest.

"I can't believe you are stuck in this bed. I could really use you when I go and speak to some of these potential clients!" Oh, how sweet.

"You are so sweet to say so, but I can't believe you would even think I would be of any use at all in speaking to people. You are so good for my self esteem." I got teary eyed just thinking about how wonderful and supportive my friends always have been.

Frank looked horrified at my tears, well, I can't blame him, I am not sure he has seen me cry in seven years!

"Alya, what is wrong, what did I say? Do I need to get Draco?" It was so cute how he panicked.

"No, it is just being pregnant. It has thrown my emotions all over the place. I cried the other day because square pegs would never be able to go in to round holes." I admitted.

Frank looked both relieved and amused at the same time. "Really? Square pegs and round holes?" He laughed.

"Well, it was a little more complicated than that" I said sheepishly. "But not by much. We both laughed.

Draco came in and stood in the doorway watching us. He looked pleased. I held my arms out to him.

He came forward and hugged and kissed me "You didn't let her tire herself out, did you Gamp?"

"Do I strongly resemble someone who wants the flesh peeled from their bones?" He asked and I remembered Draco's original threats.

"Draco, stop threatening my best friends. Don't you have Goyle to terrify?" I laughed up at him.

"Terrifying Goyle is really your job. I would never dream of taking it away from you, my love." Draco teased.

Frank took his leave of us and Draco curled up in bed next to me.

I wrapped my arms around him "Tired?"

"Yeah… I am pretty sure Potter is getting revenge for every arsehole thing I ever said to him as a kid." I laughed, but couldn't disagree.

.


	95. Finally Free

Finally, after two bloody months of being tied to a bed, and not in any of the fun ways, I had a follow up appointment with Healer Bhatia. She had come to our flat at one month, and said I was doing very well, but she wanted to see me in her office at two months before allowing me to resume light duties.

All of the Vipers had come to visit me during the time I was laid up. Esme had allowed Frank to grovel his way back in to her good graces. Pria had told me, rather nervous about what my reaction would be, that Fred had asked her out. I hugged her and told her as long as he didn't hurt her I was OK with it.

I then promptly sent an owl to Fred threatening him with death and dismemberment if he so much as made my friend cry. No one messes with the Vipers, or the Vipers mess with him. Brother or not!

The day for my appointment finally drew near. I was happy to get up and get dressed to go out! I had spent two months wearing pajamas.

And worse, no sex! At all. It was unpleasant. I was hoping that little restriction would be lifted.

I was now showing quite the baby bump. I was a little over four months and very excited to be showing. I had been able to feel Miranda moving a little. It felt like butterflies were having a parade more than anything else. Draco loved talking to my tummy and telling Miranda how very much she was loved. It was the most beautiful thing ever!

And my morning sickness was gone finally and I could enjoy my pregnancy.

Draco had taken the day off to go with me. He had been working so hard that sometimes he came home and just collapsed in to bed.

What I did not like was how secretive he had become. I knew that his job required a degree of confidentiality, but there was something unsettling about the way he watched me when he thought I was sleeping. Like he thought I would disappear.

When we left for Healer Bhatia's office, we had to take a Ministry vehicle because flooing or side apparating was not recommended in my condition. The man driving the car was not someone I had ever seen before.

"Hello, Miss Weasley, my name is Alexander. I am pleased to be escorting you today." He shook my hand and smiled at me.

Draco had mentioned some of his co-workers, and there had definitely been a fellow Auror he was friendly with named Alexander. But it couldn't be the same man. Could it? Aurors don't escort pregnant fiance's of fellow Aurors to Healer appointments. Did they? No, that was ridiculous. Wasn't it?

"Thank you, Alexander, I appreciate your escorting us." I shook his hand and smiled back.

At the appointment, Healer Bhatia announced me recovered enough to start leaving my home again. "Only if you take it slowly and carefully." She cautioned.

"Would you like to hear your baby's heart beat?" She asked Draco and I with a smile.

We both nodded enthusiastically. With a wave of her wand over my tummy, suddenly… there it was. Miranda's heartbeat. I wept openly and even Draco had tears in his eyes as he held me while we just listened.

"She is strong and healthy. There has been no damage from your premature cramping." Healer Bhatia assured us.

Draco took me to a light lunch. The woman who was driving the car introduced herself as Victoria.

There was also an Auror named Victoria. This just seemed to be unlikely a coincidence.

When we made it in to the small restaurant I ordered only water, I did not want a repeat of the tea incident.

I reached out and took Draco's hand. "Are you going to tell me what is going on?" I asked him. I was not frightened by all of this unusual attention, just very confused.

Draco carefully placed his napkin on his knee, avoiding my gaze. "I am not certain what you mean, Alya." Uh huh, he only called me 'Alya' when he was being evasive. Other than that it was Aly or she-weasel. I wondered if he realized that? I sure wasn't planning to enlighten him!

"Draco, two Aurors escorted us today. No… don't deny it" I held up a hand "It is more than a coincidence that our two drivers just happened to have the same name as a couple of your colleagues. Please tell me what is going on.

Draco sighed "You always were too smart for your own good, Aly." Ah, that was better! "I… we… Harry and I that is… we have reason to suspect that your tea was switched out on purpose."

Someone… someone had tried to kill my baby? I placed a hand on my tummy protectively but…"Draco, that seems so… unlikely. I mean, not everyone has a strong reaction like I did to raspberry tea leaf tea. It seems like a pretty inefficient way to cause me… us… harm"

He nodded "I agree, which is why I wanted to test your tea. When I got to your office, your mug was missing."

"The cleaning crew probably moved it. Cleaned it and…."He was shaking his head.

"I interrogated all of them. No one was scheduled to clean your office. And no one should have been back in there once you were taken away." He informed me. "In addition, Healer Bhatia ran some tests. There were faint traces of a potion in your system. A potion known to cause spontaneous miscarriage."

"I…" I stopped, he looked frightened. That worried me more than anything else. I took a deep breath. I was not going to deny the possibility, no matter how unlikely it seemed. I wasn't really happy that he had kept this from me, however! "Alright," I took his hand again "who are our suspects?"

"My suspects. You are to stay out of this Aly. None of your heroics. Period. You are not just looking after yourself now." I knew he was serious. I knew when I could push him and when I did not dare.

"Very well, Draco. I will respect your wishes in this." He looked at me suspiciously. Oh, how well this man knew me! "No, this time I mean it. You are right. I have to consider Miranda's well being."

He nodded firmly "Harry and I have been rotating out Aurors to watch you and our flat. You have never been left alone."

"That would have been nice to know. Maybe they could have come in and played chess with me during those times when I nearly lost my mind from boredom." I pouted.

That eased the tension somewhat and after that we enjoyed our meal, speaking of lighter subjects.

"Mother wants our wedding held as soon as possible you know." He said, sipping his brandy.

"My mother does as well, I am not going to be rolled down the aisle like a big fat beached whale, Draco. They can bloody well wait until after Miranda is born. She can be carried down the aisle as our flower girl alongside Bill and Fleur's daughter." We had discovered Bill and Fleur would be having a daughter near to the same time as we were.

"You know that I would deny you nothing, but honestly? Our mother's scare the pants off of me!" He took my hand.

That's him, my big strong fiancé. Able to take down escaped Death Eaters and other assorted criminals. But when it came to mothers? Worlds biggest coward. I rolled my eyes. "Grow a back bone and tell them no Draco."

He looked at me as if I had suggested he take on a dragon unarmed. Maybe as far as he was concerned, I had.

.


	96. Keeping Alya Safe

I knew I was giving Draco fits about my protection, but I was not going to be held captive in my own bedroom any longer!

"Alya… be reasonable…" I hated that he sounded so desperate and that I was going to deny him.

"Draco" I tried to sound as calm as I could "I have been perfectly reasonable. I have allowed your Auror buddies to escort me and follow me." They were actually pretty tolerable now that I was allowed to speak to them and invite them in for tea.

"That is not reasonable, it is necessary. Reasonable is staying in one place to make their jobs easier." Draco sighed.

"I did not hide during the war. I am not hiding after. This too shall pass, Draco. Besides, you and Harry will find him or her soon and this will all be over. I trust you, I know you won't let anything happen to me." Flattery, I was going to use flattery to get my way. I was feeling pretty proud of myself.

"If you trust me to keep you safe them you have to trust that I know what is best for you. And what is best for you is to stay at home until this psychopath is caught." Ohhhh k, flattery failed.

"You do not have the right to keep me trapped here!" Anger, I was going to use anger to get my way. I was feeling pretty proud of myself!

"Actually… I do. I can get a Ministry order confining you to our home for your protection." Was he screwing with me?

I would try threats to get my way "Draco, I am leaving this flat one way or another. If you want to be able to keep an eye on me I suggest you get on board!" I was feeling… well, less proud of myself but just as determined.

"Fine." I could tell he was getting irritated. "But you will stay in full view of your escorts at all times. And by Merlin Aly, if you give them the slip, if you get stressed or are in any danger, I will personally tie you to this bed!"

I knew this was as good a deal as I was going to get so I merely said "Yes Draco." Very meekly.

I guess I don't do meek well because he said "I am serious, Aly, if you so much as stub a toe you will not see the light of day for the next five months!"

I hugged him tight "I know you are worried, Draco, but if I stay inside then the bad guy wins."

"So let him win." He whispered into my hair. "As long as you and the baby are safe."

"I will only go out for a bit and I will come right home." I grabbed my purse.

"Wait! What? You want to go out NOW?" Well… what did he think I was waiting for?

"Yes, Draco, I want to go out now. I want to have lunch in a restauramt. I want to see my Mum." I also grabbed a sweater "Shouldn't you be summoning my jailor?"

"Don't call them that, they are friends who care about your well being." I felt bad, Draco had enough trouble fitting in after the war, I shouldn't make things harder.

"I am sorry, Draco, I meant it as a joke. Your friends are lovely and I am glad you have them." I meant it, Alexander and Victoria really are quite lovely.

"Besides, they are out on assignment. They are unavailable." His tone had a "so there" quality to it. Real mature.

"Well then, you had better grab a coat, we are leaving for the Burrow in five!" So there!

With a sigh he grabbed his coat. "Fine, let's go."

"Oh do stop acting like I am torturing you, Malfoy! It is lunch with my Mum." He was being such a baby!

"You mean the Weasley Matriarch who cast a killing curse at my crazy bitch of an Aunt's heart and killed her dead? Shouting, and I quote 'NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH?' that Mum?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well, when you put it like that…" I hesitated.

"The one whose unmarried daughter I got pregnant? Who almost died because some unknown bastard spiked her tea with an abortificant? THAT the 'Mum' you are talking about? Yeah, I don't foresee any problems at all." He pulled his coat on forcefully.

Wait…. Was he actually afraid of my Mum? I thought he was just being overly dramatic.

I wrapped my arms around his waist. "My Mum will love you because I love you." He looked at me skeptically "and because you have made me happier than as a lonely little girl I ever thought I could be."

"No more than you have made me" he laid his hand on my stomach "the two of you. Which is why I can't stand the thought of losing you. Not now, not when we have come so far and the finish line is so close."

"Who says we are at the finish line?" I smiled up at him cheekily "I plan to be a pain in your arse for many years to come."

"Hey… you know… Healer Bhatia said that we can resume normal sexual intercourse. That it is actually good for you…" He waggled his eyebrows causing me to laugh.

"Draco Malfoy, stop trying to distract me!" I slapped him playfully on the arm.

"I was trying to distract ME." He grumbled, but escorted me to the car.

It took a few hours to get to the Burrow so I took a nap in his lap. It was nice going to sleep with him stroking my hair.

When he finally woke me up we were in Otter Saint Catchpole. I always loved this little muggle town. When I was younger I had made friends with a few of the muggle children. Those were far more innocent times.

"Our home is just up the road a bit. It is unplottable, so you can't just stumble upon it." I told Draco as we got out of the car.

We walked hand in hand, the air was just turning to the soft spring breezes that I so enjoyed.

When we approached I was happy to see Mum outside on the porch. She jumped up and ran forward to hug me.

"And how is my baby girl today?" Awwww.

"I am just fine Mum." I smiled at her.

"Oh yes, of course you as well, Alya, but I was referring to my granddaughter." Of course she was. I rolled my eyes.

"And you, Draco, how are you enjoying the life of an Auror? Harry tells me you have been instrumental in several arrests. We are all so proud of you." Mum pulled Draco in for a hug as well surprising him.

Mum pulled us in to a huge plate of sandwiches, crisps and pumpkin juice.

As we sat and chatted I noticed Draco looking at the family clock. It showed me at home.

"That is… a brilliant piece of magic, Mrs. Weasley. Is it a family heirloom?" He really did seem impressed by it.

"Oh please, call me Molly, dear, we are practically family now. And thank you dear, yes, the clock has been in Arthur's family for generations. When you and Alya get married, your name will appear on the clock as well" she smiled at him.

Draco looked shocked and touched by her statement.

.


	97. Who Done It?

Harry had taken to coming around my place in the evenings, bringing Ginny some times and Ron others. The talk inevitably took to who could have poisoned me and what would their next move be, if any I was quick to point out.

"Their first attack failed." Harry said somberly one night. "I think we can safely assume they will try again."

"Yes, but why ME in the first place? I wasn't very instrumental in the war at all."

Draco looked miserable "I think they may have been trying to get at me by attacking you. And don't discount how much you helped. You kept the students safe."

"Yes, Draco, STUDENTS. I only fought when I had to." I was no war hero that was certain.

"Yes, but you fought for the wrong side. But I still believe it is me they are after." He looked at me as if he had personally harmed me in some foul way.

"Not to interrupt what I am certain would be a very entertaining argument about how heroic my sister-in-law to be was or was not" Harry held up a hand "but I have trouble believing it is you this person is after Draco. They have had plenty of opportunities to attack you while out on a mission."

"And they have not wasted any of those opportunities." Draco said flatly, making me frown.

"That is true, but they have not gone after you any more than they are going after us." Ron added, stuffing his face with more roast beef.

"Oh, that makes me feel infinitely better, they are not attacking me anymore than they do two thirds of the Golden Trio who took down the Dark Lord." Draco rolled his eyes.

"But they haven't gone after Hermione, and she is that last third. AND my fiancé." Ron pointed out. How my dork brother had managed to snag the brightest witch of her age was still beyond me. Something I never ceased pointing out to him.

Draco looked thoughtful. "Which leaves someone going after Aly personally."

"Correct." Harry confirmed.

"Do you have any real enemies, sis? Think about it. Someone serious enough to try and kill you?" Ron must be concerned, he put down his fork.

I could think of only one person. "Yeah… maybe… Astoria Greengrass. She was all set to become the next Lady Malfoy when I stepped in."

"That was not going to happen in this reality." Draco assured me "But honestly, I know she was a bit of a flirt and troublemaker, but killer?"

I shrugged. "Has to be, I don't have any other enemies. Even Pansy os more tit for tat. I mean she did enjoy torturing me a bit more than was strictly necessary but…" I stopped as I noticed all three of them staring at me slack jawed.

"Pansy, as in Pansy Parkinson TORTURED you?" Draco half shouted.

"Well, yes, but in her defense, I did ask her to." I tried to smile reassuringly. I did not succeed in reassuring anyone of anything except my insanity.

"In what half witted hair brained scheme did you end up in a position to actually ASK to be tortured?" Now it was Ron who was shouting.

"Well, it is complicated really, but I needed to be able to withstand the cruciatus and I promised Professor Snape that I would use my abilities… sort of… and…" I was not sure how to explain.

"You promised him to sort of use your abilities, or you sort of promised him?" Harry asked confused.

"I sort of promised him, we had to talk in code and mostly by him glaring at me." It was hard to explain the connection between a legilimens and their mentor.

"So you let Pansy cast the cruciatus curse on you?" Harry seemed to have become the spokesperson for the trio as Ron and Draco were staring at me dumbfounded.

"Yeah, well, I knew she was the only one who I had annoyed enough to use the curse, but not so much as to cripple or kill me with it. It was a good plan. And it worked." It had hurt like hell, but I did not think now was the time to share with the class.

"You are the bravest or stupidest witch I have ever met." Declared Harry. "And I had to put up with Lavender calling Ron Won-Won."

Ron groaned "Yeah and every time you bring it up Hermione takes it out on ME!"

"Yeah, Ron, that's why I do it." Harry grinned.

"At any rate" Harry continued "I am still leaning towards Mulciber."

"Mulciber? Who is that?" I was confused, I had never heard the name.

"An escaped Death Eater. Thanks in large part to Draco, the last Death Eater on the loose." I was so pleased to see Draco praised.

"OK, but why would he have reason to go after me personally? I have never even heard his name before tonight." It seemed highly unlikey.

"You would have if you ever read anything besides the financial section." Draco said in exasperation "Salazar, Aly, he has been all over the papers."

I shrugged "I am too busy for that sort of news. Still, why me? If it is him, and I would place money on Astoria."

"We don't know that yet." Harry admitted. "If we did we might be able to predict what he will do next."

"Well, try predicting what Astoria will do next." I insisted.

"We will put an Auror on her, Aly, but seriously, I think you are barking up the wrong tree." Draco assured me.

"And one on Pansy!" Ron exclaimed, clearly still horrified.

"Oh leave Pansy alone. She and I are… friendly. Or sort of friendly. Well, she has dinner over regularly so if she wanted to harm me…" Ron gasped in outrage.

"You let in a woman who tortured you? And EAT with her?" He was clearly in shock, his fork had dropped to the ground.

"Yes, Ronald, she is one of Draco's best friends. She and her wife Daphne will be two of my brides maids." Ron just shook his head at me mutely.

"You can't understand, Ron, it is a Slytherin thing. We may go after people outside but we don't eat our own." Gemma had drilled that in to us as first years.

"Yeah… but she tried to turn Harry in. Don't you think maybe you should NOT have her 'round for tea?" He was clearly not going to let this go.

"Of COURSE she tried to turn him in. She was terrified. We all were." I hastened to add. "We had that psychopath inside our minds. For you, Harry and Hermione, that may have been normal, it was not normal for us!"

"Yeah, but no one else tried to…" I interrupted what was sure to be a rant against Slytherin's.

"That is because Pansy was the only one strong enough to still speak." Ron gaped at me.

Harry looked thoughtful. "I had never really thought about that. Pansy sounds pretty incredible."

"Lots of Slytherins are. Too bad you never got to know that." I said sadly.

.


	98. Back to Work

After two more months of taking it easy, and watching Miranda growing day by day, Healer Bhatia finally told me I was allowed to return to work!

OK, I had to delegate every little thing, and I could only go into the office for half days but I was able to go to my office!

I was setting up my office with a small crib that I had purchased to Miranda could come to work with me. There was a light rap at the door. I looked up to see our assistant Donald at the door. I smiled. He had become such an indispensible part of our team.

Donald was an older widower. I had asked him about children once, but he and his wife had never had any. "She was indisposed from a young age Miss Weasley, and I was away quite a bit for my duties so we never had any. I have a niece that I just adore."

Donald had a slightly confusing way of speaking, but I guess that is just the Welsh way.

"Miss Weasley, I am going to the Leaky Cauldron to grab lunch, can I bring you back anything?" No matter how many times I asked him to call me Alya he refused. Such a polite man!

"Yes, please bring me back some fish and chips! Thank you Donald." I had been craving fish and chips so much.

"Well, we have to make sure the baby is eating well." He smiled at me.

I wasn't worried about my safety with Donald gone, Draco still had Aurors watching me. I knew this even though I couldn't see them. They stayed very discrete. That was one of my requirements. Clients would get nervous with law enforcement hanging about.

When Donald got back we went right back to work while eating.

"I believe we can get the Lucerne account very easily." Donald told me going over our reports.

"I don't know, they are such a large shipping family. Do you think we have enough clout?" I had been going after smaller businesses and those just beginning their investments to build a name.

"The main branch of the family would be a problem, but the youngest son, Darrel is hungry to prove himself. He has enough to invest to make our efforts worthwhile. Shall I owl him?" Donald was so excited. It was nice to give the older man a new sense of purpose.

"OK, I trust your judgment, if you think we can get him, go send that owl!" I went back to work eating my lunch and drinking water. Ever since the poisoning incident I had stuck to only water.

It was pretty normal this time of day for me to need a nap, I shut the office door with my privacy sign on the knob and stretched out to sleep.

When I awoke later I was confused. This did not look at all like my office. Was I still dreaming? I moved to rub my eyes and discovered my hands were bound.

This was bad. Really bad! In any other circumstance I could have changed to a snake and just slithered away, but not while carrying a baby. It would kill us both!

"Don't struggle Miss Weasley, you will only hurt yourself." Oh thank Merlin, it was Donald! At least I wasn't alone.

"Donald! Did they take you too? Were you awake? Do you know where we are?" I was trying to hold the panic down, but how was I going to get both of us… all three of us out of here?

"Oh yes, Miss Weasley. I know exactly where we are." I heard his calm voice. And then he moved into my sight. He wasn't tied down?

"Donald… what… what is happening?" My head was still foggy. I understood by now that I had been drugged. Miranda was very still within me. Oh Merlin, please let her be alright!

"You have proven very difficult to take down, Miss Weasley. First you survived the tea and then you were surrounded by Aurors. Yes, very difficult. But no one thought twice about the poor bumbling muggleborn just trying to make his way. Why I even got the Malfoy traitor to approve my hiring." He laughed, a cold chilling sound.

"Why? Why are you so intent on harming me? I don't even know you!" Maybe if I could keep him talking I could figure out how to get us out of this.

"You may not know me, but you know my niece. Morag, ring a bell?" I tried to keep an eye on him, what was he doing?

"Mora? What does Mora have to do with this? She is one of my best friends?" No way would a Viper be involved in my kidnapping. No matter what it was like that muggle writer said "One for all and all for one."

"THAT is the problem. She would have been a pureblood wife. She would have brought our family back from disgrace, but you and your filthy blood traitor ways have her convinced that muggles and muggleborns are just like us! He was ranting now, I had to figure out a way to keep him calm.

"I would never do anything to harm Mora or her standing! I love her, I told you she is one of my best…" The sudden sting on my cheek told me that was exactly the wrong thing to say.

"Please, do anything you want to me, it doesn't matter, but please… please don't hurt my baby!" I would have done anything to keep Miranda safe.

"Oh I am well past wanting to hurt that baby. Oh no, no, no, no no. You will be kept in perfect health until she is born. And then I will leave with her. I will leave you alive and healthy to learn how it feels to have a precious child stolen from you. Now eat, I told you earlier, we have to make sure the baby is eating properly." He shoved a spoon in my mouth.

I was dealing with a mad man. But I had to keep stalling for time. Surely the Aurors would have noticed I was missing by now. Draco would be here to save me if I could just keep us alive and safe until he got here.

Oh, I do wish he would hurry!

Donald must have put something in my food because I fell asleep again. When I woke next I could tell it was well past night. I had one arm and one leg tied by long chains to the bed. There was a loo just within reach. When I finished freshening up I looked for anything to use as a weapon But there wasn't so much as a mirror. That was when I noticed it. The back of the toilet had a lid. It was heavy enough to make a solid weapon. I peeked out the door. Donald was no where in sight. I carefully lifted the lid and quickly crept back to bed hiding the lid beneath my pillow.

Donald came in a few hours later when the light sky was just lighting up. I had no idea how long I had been here. It could have been hours or days.

"Time for breakfast!" he announced almost cheerfully. I knew I had to eat no matter what he put in the food or I would not be strong enough to fight him.

After he had shoveled food into my mouth I knew I would not have much time. If he saw the lid missing I would lose my only weapon.

He carefully checked my arm chain. When he turned to check my leg chain I struck.

Pulling the lid quickly I cracked him on the back of the head making a sickening thud.

He was bleeding and turned to me weaving somewhat, but I was ready. I leapt up and wrapped my arm chain around his neck. I started strangling him and continued even after he stopped moving.

I kept strangling even when someone was shaking me slightly saying "Alya, Aly! Stop, he is dead, it is over!"

I looked up in to Draco's face and the drugs took over and I passed out.

.


	99. Never Leaving My Sight Again

"You will never be out of my sight again." Draco vowed, his face buried in my chest.

I was at St. Mungo's recovering. All in all I was in good shape, healer Bhatia just wanted me to keep me in overnight for observation.

"And so help me, if you even so much as suggest you will be working even half days…" I hugged him to me. I knew how frightened he was.

"I will do exactly as you say Draco. I am so sorry to have frightened you so much." I knew he had been pressed as far as he could be.

He just nodded and let me cuddle him. Merlin, one would think he would be comforting ME! Except, honestly, I was fine now that I knew the baby was OK. Whatever potion Donald had drugged me with had done no real harm. It was like he said, he wanted me alive and healthy. I shuddered.

"How on earth did you find me so quickly?" I was a little fuzzy on the details.

"QUICKLY?!" He nearly sobbed "Alya, you were missing for three days. I thought I would lose my mind!"

Three days. Wow. I knew I had no sense of time in there, but three days seemed… wait I had only got up to go to the bathroom once. Did that mean the other times that madman was cleaning me? I wanted to kill him all over again.

"I am sorry, love. Tell me how you found me after those three days." I stoked his hair.

"When Alexander and Victoria did not report in on time, I went to find them expecting you to have detained them in some game of chess or something. When I got there I found them both unconscious in the closet. I suspect that Mulciber would have come back to finish them off if I had not…" I was confused.

"Mulciber? Did he send Donald?" I interrupted.

"I am getting to that, be patient. When they revived they told me the only person to have been with you all day was Donald and the alarms had not gone off signifying someone else had entered…" I interrupted again.

"Alarms? You set up alarms on my office without telling me? I was outraged.

Draco glared at me "Right" I said placating him "alarms, great idea."

"Harry was with me. We had no idea what had happened, but somehow the man we knew as Donald" he glared at me as I started to interrupt again "was involved. So we went to his house. The smell told us right away that we were not going to like what we found inside. We found Donald, only it was clear he had been dead for some time. Much longer than that day. And he had several chunks of hair missing."

I finally understood "Mulciber was using poly juice potion to disguise himself as Donald."

Draco looked at me with tears in his eyes "And I hired him. Oh Salazar, Alya, I am the one who put you in danger!"

I hugged him "You had no way of knowing."

"And it isn't true any way." We heard from the door. I looked up to see Harry smiling down at me "You really are the worst trouble making Weasley you know." He looked at Draco. "When we searched Donald's home we found the employment and confidentiality contracts you had drawn up. It would appear that you had hired the real Donald, but Mulciber waylaid him."

"But how did you know where to find me?" I was still unclear on that point.

"When Frank came in to work and found out you were missing, he rounded up the rest of your friends. Mora told us about Mulciber being her uncle. Your friends helped us search every estate he could possibly be holed up in. Without Mora we could not have got past the blood wards." I had not even realized Mora was there, but then I had passed out pretty quickly.

"My Vipers." I said wiping my tears.

"You called?" I looked up to see all of my friends standing in the doorway looking down at me.

I squealed and Draco was nearly trampled as they all rushed forward to hug me. My strong tough Mora was weeping. "I am so sorry Alya! I had no idea he was intending to go after you! I knew he had escaped but…"

I shushed her and hugged her hard "It is not your fault! And without you, Draco would not have found me as quickly. You are my hero."

"Not that he needed to." Frank said with glee "You finished that foul bastard off on your own! Nearly took his head clean off strangling him from what we heard."

I turned green and Esme started whacking him with her purse "What is WRONG with you? You can't say those things to a pregnant woman!"

Frank just shrugged and grinned. "Hey speaking of pregnant women… he squeezed Esme around the waist.

"Really?!" I squealed.

Esme nodded and held up her right hand. Two bands "Wait… you two got married?"

"Yep. We wanted you there, really we did, but it was a spur of the moment thing. We went to Gretna Green and had a quick ceremony. When you are better we will have a huge reception." He told me smiling.

"Well, you are forgiven then. As long as there will be cake." Because… cake!

"I swear, sometimes you remind me of Ron." Harry laughed.

"You will never say those words out loud again." Draco growled, making us all laugh.

"I just need a few minutes of your time… when you get out." Harry hastily amended "We need a full report on Mulciber. Also, you may be interested to know that you are eligible for the reward for his capture. One thousand galleons." The Vipers and I looked at each other, all of our eyebrows raised.

"Don't you even THINK about it, Alya Weasley!" Draco threatened.

We Vipers laughed, but exchanged glances. One thousand for one capture? Hmmmm…..

"So, when are you two getting married?" Pria asked.

"Not until after Miranda is born. I will NOT be rolled down the aisle!" I patted my tummy and felt Miranda move. "Oh! She is moving! Want to feel?"

Everyone took turns placing their hands on my tummy, even Harry.

"That… that is amazing." He whispered.

"So, are you and Ginny planning children soon? I asked him slyly.

"No, that was one thing I came to tell you. Gin says she is so sorry she can't be here, but she had try outs for the Holyhead harpies and…" Whatever else he was going to say was drowned out by squeals of delight from all of us.

"Yes!" frank pumped his fist "Free tickets!" causing Esme to whack him with her purse again.

"Alright all of you" even Draco was finally laughing "it is time to leave and let Aly get some rest."

They all hugged me and said good bye, even Harry. Draco curled up next to me on the bed and put his arms around me, his hands resting on my belly.

"Get some sleep love, I will be here when you wake up." he kissed my head.

I snuggled down into his chest and was soon sound asleep. I may not need him to always come to my rescue, but I definitely needed him for this.

.


	100. Mixed Reactions

I learned quite a few things about the man I was going to marry when we went out baby shopping that next weekend.

Draco was trying to make me feel better since I had missed our graduation for being kidnapped and all. And even if I had not been kidnapped and in the hospital, Draco had to work and the only way he would leave my side is if I stayed with my Mum. So that was what I had been doing every single bloody day. But at least Mum was teaching me stuff. I now could knit the famous Weasley jumpers and she was teaching me to cook.

Draco picked me up after work every day and this day we had decided we needed a few more items for the nursery. I had not had time with everything going on to do any house hunting so we had converted our den into a nursery. This could not last for long, I really needed Miranda to be born so that I could get serious about a place.

Bill and Fleur's little girl Victoire had been born on the very anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. I was looking forward to our little girls growing up together. And in another half a year Frank and Esme's baby would be born! At least now Draco's little cousin Teddy would not grow up lonely.

We went in to one shop and after a few minutes the owner approached us. He looked very nervous. "Ummmm…. Miss Weasley, Auror Malfoy… would you please allow me to suggest a baby store that might be better suited to your needs?"

I was confused "Is there some reason you believe that your establishment is not suitable for us?"

Draco just sighed and said "We will shop later, Alya."

"No, wait, I am confused…" I really was.

"Well, that does not surprise me that you cannot understand when you are no wanted." An older witch said from behind us. I looked around and saw several older witches and wizards glaring at us. What were they even doing in a baby store to start with?

I leveled a stare at their spokes witch. "Would you care to repeat that?"

Draco looped his arm through mine and tried to lead me from the store.

I was having none of it. "Just a moment, darling, I would like to hear what this witch has to say."

"Very well, since you cannot take a hint," she sneered down her nose at me "you have your nerve showing up in public carrying the child of a Death eater who should be in prison! You are a disgrace to wizard kind. Your poor parents how they have suffered."

Oh HELL no, did she just make a comment about my parents? "Wow, that was a funny sentence to make as your final words." I pulled my wand "You and I have very different ideas about what makes a disgrace to wizarding kind you old battle axe. But don't worry, I will have those words engraved on your tombstone."

Several things happened at once, Draco shouted at me to stand down, the shop owner cowered behind his counter, and the elderly witch urinated on herself.

I sneered "You aren't worth it, but if that changes." I flicked my wand sending a little poof of smoke out "you will be the first to know."

When we left there was a young girl, no more than twelve or thirteen running towards us "Auror Malfoy! Auror Malfoy!" she called.

"Oh, hello Lizzie." Draco smiled down at the young girl "How are you?"

"Much better, the bad dreams are almost gone. Grandmum says she was walking by when she heard what those awful people were saying she wants you to know she just got a catalogue full of baby things and you should come around to her shop for tea." The little girl was so enthusiastic, and she stared up at Draco with almost hero worship.

"Please say you'll come?" she pleaded.

"Of course I will, Lizzie, run and tell your Grandmum we are on our way." He ruffled the little girl's hair.

"YAY!" she shouted and ran off with Draco smiling after her.

"Well… that was quite a different reception." I smiled at him fondly.

"Oh, her? Yeah, Lizzie's father was an escaped Death eater that I caught. She and her grandmother had lived in fear that he would come and take Lizzie away. We put him back in prison and they were pretty grateful." He looked bashful all of the sudden "it was no big deal really, just part of the job."

I hugged him tightly "It is a huge deal, and you could tell how she considers you her hero. I had no idea that what you were doing was such a personal thing to people."

He shrugged "Yeah, well, Lizzie is a cute kid."

When we got to the shop I was surprised to see it was Twilfitt and Tattings. I looked at Draco quizzically.

"Lizzie's grandmother is Madame Twilfitt." Draco said by way of explanation.

When we got in we were greeted by the woman who always fitted me for gowns "Miss Weasley." She said happily. I am so glad to have you and Auror Malfoy to visit."

"Madame Twilfitt," Draco leaned down to kiss her withered cheek "How many times do I have to ask you to call me Draco?"

Blushing like a school girl over his kiss she patted his cheek fondly "As many times as I have to tell you to call me Violet I suppose."

Madame Twilfitt… or Violet I suppose, and Lizzie led us to the back of the store where several periodicals and catalogues were produced. All of them had baby items.

After serving us teas and little cakes Violet said "I am sorry for what happened back there Aur…" at his censuring looking she amended "Draco. Not everyone feels the way those old biddies do. Most of us know how hard you are working for all of us. Without you, my Lizzie would have still been having nightmares. You know you are most welcome in my shop.

"Thank you Violet. Old prejudices and wounds take time to heal. And I have been instrumental in causing many of those." Draco said sipping his tea. I hated how matter of fact he sounded.

"Nonsense. That awful war won't be over until we let go of the past." She poured him more tea and patted his hand. "You were never a villain, Draco Malfoy, you were a very young man caught up in circumstances beyond your control. Anyone who condemns you for that is not worth paying attention to."

Lizzie came in and very shyly handed Draco a card. "Happy birthday Auror Malfoy." She said timidly.

Merlin! I had forgotten Draco's birthday! I am the worst fiancé ever!

Draco leaned forward and kissed Lizzie on the cheek making her turn a deep scarlet "I will treasure this, Lizzie. Thank you. It is going right up on our mantel!"

I would swear for just a second Lizzie gave me a look of pure loathing. I resisted giggling. Ah the first crush. How sweet. I could hardly blame her, Draco was my first crush too.

When we finally left I turned to Draco "I am so sorry! I forgot your birthday, I am the worst fiancé to ever crawl across the face of the earth!"

Draco smiled and kissed me, with a hand resting on top of my belly he said "You have already given me the best present a man could ask for."

.


	101. The Final Healer Appointment

At 8 and a half months I was as big as a whale. No a house! And my feet were swollen. And even if I was allowed to leave the house I didn't want to!

I had been having minor cramping, nothing serious, but enough to be miserable with. Healer Bhatia wanted to see me in her office. And she suggested that I invite both sets of grandparents for a surprise.

When we got there Healer Bhatia had a strange contraction set up. It almost looked like one of those muggle boxes with moving pictures. Except there were no pictures moving at the moment.

We waited until all of our parents were in the room before Healer Bhatia explained why she wanted everyone present.

"This is an adaptation of a muggle invention. It will allow us to see your baby in perfect clarity." I was amazed and excited.

So was my Dad, but for different reasons. It was half an hour before he stopped asking questions about how the machine had been adapted and what the implications for the wizard world was.

The Malfoy's sniffed a bit haughtily (because of course they did) Draco and I just looked at each other amused.

Mum demanded to know if the procedure could in any way pose a risk to the baby. It was only after being reassured several times that she finally calmed down.

Healer Bhatia had sent me in to the next room to put on a hospital gown. When I returned, she lifted my gown enough to expose my belly and ran her wand across it.

It took a moment of the machine whirring but finally the image became clear.

And there was our baby. Draco gasped and took my hand. We both stared mesmerized watching Miranda sucking her thumb and even smiling at one point.

Our parents were equally quiet just watching their granddaughter move and squirm.

"She is beautiful." Mum told me, wiping away tears.

"She most certainly is." Narcissa was also wiping away tears.

Lucius was quiet and so was Dad. They both just watched the screen. Dad was wiping away his own tears. Lucius was not but he had the most peaceful expression on his face that I had ever seen.

And Miranda was perfect. All of the fingers and toes she was supposed to have and none she should not. She was holding her umbilical cord and smiling gently.

Draco frowned at the image and looked from my belly back to the screen. "Is that image upside down?"

"No, it is showing your daughter exactly as she lies in the womb. Why do you ask?" Healer Bhatia sounded genuinely confused.

So was I for that matter.

"Then why in Merlin's name is my daughter hanging upside down like a bat?" he sounded shocked and dismayed.

All of us looked at Draco, then screen, then at my belly and finally back at Draco.

I was never certain later who started it, but someone started laughing and then everyone was laughing.

Draco looked even more confused. "What?!" he demanded.

"By Salazar Slytherin's damned pointy beard, Draco." I said through my tears of laughter. "Did you think our daughter was simply going to walk out of there? She will come out head first. That is why she is upside down!"

"Language, Alya." Mum chastised me, causing me to look at her stunned. "Mother, the father of my child thought my daughter was hanging like a bat. I think if any situation called for a swear word or two it is this one!"

Mum looked me for a moment and started laughing all over again. "Alright, very well, you may be correct in this case."

At first Draco looked embarrassed, but then even he saw the humor in the situation and started laughing as well.

After we had all settled down Healer Bhatia asked "How many images would you like?"

"Images?" Now it was my turn to be confused.

"Yes, we can make photographs of your daughter from this machine. How many would you like?" Healer Bhatia explained.

I thought of my brothers and sister, "Well, I will need seven to start with. Oh and one for each of the Vipers, so that is another four."

By the time everyone had time to think over everyone they thought should have one, Healer Bhatia just laughed. "I forgot what a big family all of you are. I will just have a hundred copies made and sent to the parents and they can divide them up among all of the grandparents and friends."

Grandparents! Oh Merlin, if Grandmama was left out we would never hear the end of it! She was in France right now, and had been for the last several months, but wanted to be here for the birth so we were expecting her any day.

When Healer Bhatia left so that I could get dressed and ready to leave, I noticed Mum and Narcissa looking at one another oddly.

"She called us a large family." Mum said "As in all of us."

Narcissa nodded regally "I suppose that we are."

"The most dysfunctional family in the entire wizarding world" I muttered watching Lucius and Dad glaring daggers at one another.

"Now, now, Aly, I am sure we are not the MOST dysfunctional… after all, look at Potter's relatives." Draco smirked at me.

"Harry is family now too." I reminded him.

"I stand corrected" Draco grinned as his father now turned the dagger glare on both of us "we ARE the most dysfunctional family ever."

He and I laughed, but we stopped when our mothers were whispering head to head and then left.

"Oh…" Draco muttered to me "that cannot be good."

"Gee, you think?" I snapped sarcastically.

When we got the photos in, by several large owls, Draco and I went through and sorted by who got which one.

"We need three." I told him. "One for you, one for me and one for Miranda's baby album."

"Right, and then our friends." He started labeling envelopes.

"We should have a couple framed nicely for our parents." I was happily knitting baby booties.

"Anything you want love." He had been so good to me lately. I smiled at him with tears in my eyes.

Later that day we got two owls. One from my mother addressed to me and one to Draco from his mother. Invitations to lunch.

"What do you suppose this is about?" I asked frowning

"This is that doom we predicted at the hospital." Draco said grimly.

,


	102. Mother's United

It wasn't doom. It was an unmitigated disaster.

We met our mother's at a little tea shop. When we walked in they were sitting together head to head going over papers that they had spread all over the table. Narcissa Malfoy was untidy. That could not be a good sign.

"Oh, hello darling." Narcissa turned her cheek for Draco to kiss while I hugged my mother suspiciously.

Draco helped me settle into the chair. It was hard for me to get up and down these days. Miranda was due in just three weeks and I doubted any mother had ever been as anxious as I was to have my baby born!

"Mum…" I started, "what are you up to?"

"We, Narcissa and I, have decided that it is time for you to be married. Now. Before the baby is born." She smiled proudly and motioned towards the papers.

"Mum I…" I tried to interrupt, but she was having none of it.

"And we have it all planned out! We will be able to have everything ready in just ten days. It took quite a bit of planning, but we have it all managed."

"Mum, I told you I…." I tried again.

"The venue was a bit tricky, but we decided that a simple lawn side ceremony at your grandmother Weasley's estate would do quite nicely." She just barreled right through.

"MUM!" I finally shouted interrupting her enthusiastic description "I told you that I don't want to walk down the aisle so big! I want to look good in my wedding gown, not like an overstuffed… pigeon!"

"Oh sweetheart, you look beautiful! You are so radiant and glowing." Mum tried to reassure me.

"I am not radiant, I am sweaty. And tired. And my feet are swollen and…" And my mother ignored me as she went back to discussing the venue with Narcissa.

I looked at Draco "Say something!"

He just shrugged. "What difference does it make?" Coward. I would be getting no help from that direction.

"Madame Twilfitt has designed a gorgeous gown that will look simply stunning on you. And it falls in pleats around your belly so the baby won't feel crowded." Narcissa declared, proudly showing me pictures.

OK, the wedding gown did look lovely, but… "So I guess if I want to pass it down all I have to do is ask Miranda to get pregnant before she gets married."

That earned me a glare from Draco.

"So am I to assume what I want does not matter at all?" I grumbled.

"Of course it does darling." Narcissa smiled sweetly "Would you prefer yellow or cream roses in your bouquet."

I sighed "Yellow, AFTER I am no longer with child."

"Nonsense," Mum said "yellow will go dreadfully with the color arrangements. Cream will be much more flattering."

Ahhh yes, the illusion of choice. How wonderful.

"Of course." I muttered.

"But you will be able to choose your maid of honor, I assume you will choose Ginny naturally, and your brides maids."

"Oh, naturally." I glared at her.

"And since we already know who your friends are we have already sent out letters to them letting them know that they need to be fitted for their gowns." Narcissa smiled as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Is there any part of this I have a choice in, or will I just be showing up?" I mean, it wasn't that anything they said was wrong, it is just the timing.

"Well," Mum said with a twinkle in her eye "you could choose to say "No, I don't" in your vow."

"No she couldn't." Draco glared.

I kicked him. It was bad enough I was being told what to do by our mothers! He reached down and grabbed my foot slipping my shoe off and kneading the arch of my foot. My weakness! I wanted to glare at him but it felt too good.

I knew the flaw in their plan "There is no way we can get the paperwork completed in just ten days. This whole plan falls apart without the proper forms being filed." HAH!

Narcissa just raised an eyebrow at me "Galleons my dear solves that problem nicely. With enough funds any paperwork can be pushed through quickly."

"Not this quickly." I said confidently.

My smugness was hated in its tracks as Narcissa proudly pulled out the completed marriage license. "All it requires is your signature."

I rubbed my temples. "I will compromise. We will have a small ceremony at the Ministry. Just a few witnesses and…"

Both mothers turned their heads and looked at me in a way that told me there was no way this was going to be an acceptable compromise.

"Good thing you are no longer drinking tea" Draco murmured to me "they would most certainly poison it if you make another assigning suggestion."

If he wasn't now rubbing both of my feet I would have kicked him again. I suspect that was the reason he started massaging them to start with.

"The only thing we have left is the cake." Narcissa said brightly to my other, checking something off on a scroll she had in front of her. "If you are agreeable, I will have my house elf Tilly hand that. She makes a divine raspberry curd, and with a simple white cake and lovely buttercream frosting it will be ready in plenty of time."

"Oh, of course Cissa, that would be wonderful. That was the last item on the list." Since when did my mother refer to Narcissa Malfoy as "Cissa"?

"I blame you for this." I glared at Draco.

"What did I do?" He looked genuinely confused.

I motioned towards my stomach causing him to grin. "I am delighted to take credit for that." Arrogant prat.

"Stop being vulgar Draco." Narcissa admonished him. I smirked at him.

"You as well, Alya. We are in public, act like a proper young lady!" Mum warned me.

Draco smirked back at me.

I left that tea chop with a detailed list of things I needed to do. Make an appointment to have mine and my bridesmaids gown fitting. Set up an appointment to have our hair and makeup done the day of the wedding.

"My Vipers will handle that, they do after all own a fashion boutique." Wait, what was I saying?

"That's the spirit." Mum patted my cheek.

"I haven't agreed to ANY of this!" I protested.

"Oh honey" Mum smiled. "We never needed your agreement."

.


	103. Traitors, the Lot of Them

The Vipers were all traitors and I told them so. They were cheerfully carrying on about how we would wear our hair, what perfumes would be best and which cosmetic charms should Pria focus on.

Well, almost all. Frank did not care one tiny bit. He was as big a coward as Draco when it came to the women in his life and refused to help me do battle with them, so he is just as guilty.

"Alya," laughed Mora "You are the only woman I know who wants to BE married but doesn't want to GET married. This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life! You are marrying the man you love. Try to show a little enthusiasm."

We were all sitting around my flat. Draco came out with butterbeers for everyone except me. I got water.

"I am perfectly OK having a butterbeer in my own home Draco! Mulciber is no longer a threat." And I was really looking forward to tasty drinks again.

"You may have whatever you wish. When you are no longer carrying our child and no longer breastfeeding that is." I rolled my eyes and accepted my water. He had floated a sprig of mint in it. Oh joy.

"Here." Frank said grinning "Let me help you out." He ropped a toothpick into my water.

"What on earth was that for?" I stared dubiously at the toothpick. Was it flavored? No he had pulled it from my own stash.

"It is a pine float. Get it? Float?" He laughed hysterically.

"Have you been taking lessons from my idiot brothers?" I glared at him.

"Yup." He smiled proudly.

When I was no longer pregnant I would be getting vengeance!

My sweet Pria was rubbing my back. I could not believe how sore my back was. Healer Bhatia assured me this was perfectly normal.

We had three days to go before the wedding. Draco threatened to tell my Mum when I suggested we run away and elope.

Ginny hadn't been any help either. She was so excited to be my maid of honor that she owled me several times a day to discuss hemlines and hairstyles and what her toast would be.

When I reminded her that it was the best man who gave the toast she said she didn't care she was doing it too and if anyone tried to stop her she would bat bogey hex them.

After the wedding she assured me. I didn't really care, that would at least be a little exciting!

I couldn't have champagne even to celebrate. Who gets married and can't even have a glass of champagne? Draco finally agreed that I could have juice and sparkling water. But only ones that he brought with us.

When I suggested I should have a taster to make certain nothing was poisoned he actually looked like he was considering it!

Finally he rubbed his chin thoughtfully "I guess there will be enough others there eating that we will know if anything is poisoned. Just wait until the others have tasted and…"

"I will NOT! Draco Malfoy I will eat at my wedding and then you will dance with me. And by Merlin if you withhold one morsel of cake I will…. I will… BITE YOU!" I WILL have my cake!

"Alright, love. I suppose it is safe enough, the place will be surrounded by Aurors. Hell, even my best man is an Auror." He patted my knee in a condescending way.

"Your best man?" Hell, I had been wrapped up in my own annoyance at being forced to get married at almost nine months pregnant that I completely forgot he was getting married too.

"Who is your best man?" I can't believe I had never asked.

Draco rolled his eyes "Harry, of course."

"What do you mean 'of course' I would have assumed you would have Goyle or someone like that." When did he and Harry become that close.

"OK, first of all, you know very well why Goyle won't be attending our wedding." Oh… yeah… that… "And Harry has been tolerable lately."

Tolerable was almost as good as a declaration of best friends forever in Draco speak.

"Oh, that works out good. Since Ginny will be my maid of honor, Harry gets to walk her down the aisle." I really didn't appreciate the way Draco was looking at me like I had just said the most stupidly obvious thing in the world.

In revenge I made him rub my back the rest of the night.

The Vipers all arrived the day of the wedding to help me gef ready. I still had to be driven, but since Alexander and Victoria would be at the wedding, it was easy enough for them to swing by and pick me up.

Originally we wanted a horse drawn carriage but the smell of the horse and the bumpy ride made me vomit when we took it for a test run.

Pria did my makeup, I swear I almost didn't look like me! Esme had created a very light but lovely scent that would go well with my bouquet and did not make me feel queasy to smell it.

The oddest things were making me sick again. And my back still hurt. Healer Bhatia had sent over some sort of pain potion that may as well have been water. I wasn't allowed to take anything that might actually make the pain go away.

Pria and Fred had been seeing each other regularly and he would be arriving to pick her up.

Mora's flavor of the week would be escorting her, but she would be walked down the aisle by George. I liked Angelina, but we weren't bridesmaid close.

It was all settled. Draco had gone to his parents for the night because of some stupid superstition about not seeing the bride before the wedding.

It was made really stupid because there wasn't an inch of me he hadn't already seen, the proof of which was currently kicking me in the bladder.

Esme was just beginning to show. "At least I won't be the only one who can't drink the champagne at my wedding." I pouted.

Esme laughed "You can complain all you want Alya Weasley, soon to be Malfoy, but we have known you were destined for this day since first year."

"Don't be silly, Draco and I weren't even friends at that point!" I had still believed we just couldn't get along.

"Yeah, well for not being friends, you two sure snuck an awful lot of peeks at each other for the next couple of years until you finally got together." Mora grinned at me.

"Well... OK, so maybe I had a little crush on Draco then, but he didn't even know I existed." I protested.

"Oh, he knew alright." Frank joined in the laughter. "I thought he was plotting against James to get him expelled when you two started dating."

We laughed, but it was tinged with a tiny bit of sadness at the mention of James. "He would have been happy for you, you know that, right?" Frank smiled tenderly at me. "He always said the worst part was not that you broke up with him, but that he had damaged your friendship."

We all hugged and went down to the cars.

.


	104. Wedding Day Surprises

_**I rarely take the time to explain my story arc decisions. But I am going to make a VERY rare exception.**_

 _ **It may be quite the norm NOW for women to have "baby daddies" but that most CERTAINLY was not the norm in conservative well mannered societies in the late 80's and early 90's. When one became pregnant one was expected to get married. And if you did not want to you either did not open your legs or you terminated the pregnancy. Yes there were some societies where this was OK, but not in a wealthier society. It just wasn't done. Please keep in mind as you judge the actions of the parents that the word "bastard" had very real legal ramifications. No grandparent would want that for a grandchild.**_

 _ **I refuse to compromise the integrity of my story because that notion makes some of you uncomfortable. It even SHOULD make you uncomfortable, and very grateful that pioneers of the ERA made it possible for you not to face the choice of stigmatization of a bastard child or a (potentially) unwanted marriage.**_

 _ **The bones of this story was complete long before the first chapter was published. I accomplish this with chapter by chapter summaries. I know exactly what will happen from beginning to end before you ever see it.**_

 _ **For the few who have asked, and the far fewer (thankfully) who have demanded that I change my storyline to suit what they feel would be the "appropriate" reaction of those around this young couple. I have only one thing to say.**_

 _ **If you feel that strongly, please write your own unique story, using your own OC or canon characters and have them react in the way that suits your tastes. And then please link me, I am always looking for good stories to read. Some of your ideas have been awesome, they are just not MY ideas.**_

 _ **I hope you can respect that.**_

 _ **In this case, Alya is happy to marry Draco, she just has body issues. And if you did not realize those two things it does make me wonder how closely some of you have actually been reading this story.**_

 _ **Now, as they say, on with the show.**_

I had to admit, our mothers did good. The flowers were spectacular, Mum had been correct, cream roses were definitely the way to go. Narcissa had planned a wonderful dessert spread while Mum took care of the appetizers.

Grandmama had made it to the wedding and gave me my very own tiara to wear with my veil. I had to admit I did not look as terrible as I thought I would. In the right light I might even be called pretty.

Dad pronounced me beautiful. He said it with a tear in his eye. That was so sweet I would have cried if I had not been gripped with another horrible back pain.

Esme looked at me concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I am fine, Healer Bhatia says that back pains at this stage of pregnancy are normal." She didn't look convinced.

"How long ago was that? Alya… are you sure you are not in labor?" She placed her hands gently on my tummy.

"I think I would know if I was in labor, Esme, it is fine. Let's go get me married before my mother thinks I have snuck out a window. A very wide window." We all laughed.

Ginny came in just then to let us know everything was ready. "Alright, sister" she hugged me "let's go make an honest woman out of you."

"Too late." Mora waved her hand "She was already sorted in to Slytherin."

Ginny looked uncomfortable, but smiled when I and the rest of the Vipers laughed.

The music started and one by one my bridesmaids left until it was just Ginny, Dad and me.

"You will be next Gin." I hugged her again.

"Of course, that is how this marriage procession works." I shook my head laughing.

"No, Ginny, it will be you getting married next." I loved how she blushed.

My dad grabbed us both in a hug "My last two babies will be getting married. I am so proud of both of you. I can't believe I will never again wake up to the two of you arguing over whose turn it is to shower next."

"Dad… you do know if my makeup runs because I have been crying that Pria WILL kill you. She looks sweet and innocent, but she can be downright scary." I looked at him with mock seriousness causing him to laugh.

Harry collected Ginny and Dad took my arm "Are you ready sweetheart? We can always sneak out the back door until you are."

I laughed. "You could never go home, you would have to change your name and move to Atlantis."

We laughed as the music started. I gasped with another back pain. OK these were getting bad, I would have to see Healer Bhatia soon. Dad stopped me and asked seriously, "Are you alright?"

"Yes Dad, and… I really do love Draco, you know. He is the best thing that ever happened to me." I had a tear in my eye thinking about how very different my life would have been without him.

Dad kissed my forehead "Then let's go get you married."

The look on Draco's face was worth every pain, every doubt every thought I had about waiting to marry this man seem petty and foolish. He looked at me as if I was the only woman he had ever seen.

When my Dad finally brought me to him and lifted my veil Draco leaned down to whisper "You are so beautiful. I am the luckiest man alive."

The wedding official had us link hands and then waved his wand over the two of us. When you seal this magic with your vows you two will truly become one. Your magics will be linked heart to heart, wand to wand. It is my understanding that the couple have written their own vows?"

I nodded happily, we had decided on that days ago. It was actually Draco's idea. He could be quite the romantic when he wanted to.

Draco took my hands and looked deep in to my eyes "Alya Cedrella Elladora Alexia Weasley, you are my world, my joy and my deepest love. I cannot imagine what a bleak and dark place my life would be without you. You have been my best friend, my greatest defender and the woman who has stood by my side truly in the best of times and the worst of times. I look forward to growing old with you."

I had tears streaming down my face when I looked in to Draco's eyes and said the only words that mattered at that moment.

"My water just broke." I was more than a little embarrassed at the puddle of liquid that I knew was pooling beneath my feet.

Well… that got more attention than I expected! Someone called for a healer, someone else placed something under my back, I think it was a wadded up table cloth. Draco came up behind me and had me lean against his chest while I panted.

I waved my hand at the official "Well, get on with it!"

He looked at me in surprise, "You still want to get married? As in right NOW?! Don't you think we should wait until you are delivered?"

"Nope" I popped the "p" as another pain gripped me. When I could breath again I said "This will make one hell of a story."

"Alya lang…" my mother started to admonish me until I glared at her. "Well, I suppose under the circumstances you may be excused for swearing. She patted my hand and then shouted over her shoulder "Where is that damned healer?!"

I could hear Fred and George say together "Language Mum." She replied to them with a word that would definitely have had me scrubbing cauldrons without magic for using!

The official leaned over and asked "Are you certain… yes? Then… Do you Draco take Alya Weasley to be your lawfully wedded wife? In sickness and in health, strengthening your magical bond, until death do you part?"

"I do" replied Draco, through gritted teeth as I squeezed his hand hard enough to possibly do damage.

Mum had moved to between my legs and removed my undergarments "I can see her sweet little head." Mum cried. "We don't have time for a healer, someone bring me my sewing kit.

I barely had time to question why she wanted a sewing kit when another pain gripped me. I panted as I began to push. There was no way Miranda was going to wait until I questioned Mum about her sudden need to do domestic chores.

When my pain was finished, the official turned to me "And do you Alya Weasley take Draco Malfoy to be your lawfully wedded husband? In sickness and in health, strengthening your magical bond, until death do you part?"

"I do." I panted and then was overtaken by another pain and the desperate need to PUSH!

I was now in one continuous contraction, I promised to make Draco pay dearly for this indignity his filthy thoughts had forced upon me!

As for Draco, he had taken to wiping my forehead with a cloth that smelled suspiciously like firewhiskey. Really? No water to be found? I would yell at him later, right now I was too busy delivering our daughter.

I barely heard the official announce "I now pronounce you…" when I felt a massive rush as Miranda was delivered into the world and began crying "Husband and… family."

.


	105. New Troubles

**I want to share the response I sent to "ICan'tThinkofaCleverName" when I received a very lovely explanation for their review. Now, most of my long term readers know that when I make a statement like that it is never about anyone who has an actual username attached to their review, but I have been reminded an occasional disclaimer for new comers is needed:**

 **As much as your explanation is TRULY appreciated, it is also wholly unnecessary. I thought I had made this clear in the past and no longer needed to, you have reminded me that a disclaimer IS needed.**

 **When you have the guts to post an honest genuine review and log in and use your own name you get to have any opinion you want, good bad or indifferent.**

 **My comments were for those who sent nasty guest reviews. My readers are amazing, you included and you make me a better writer every day. Cowards who refuse to log in and stand up for their beliefs are NOT my target audience. My target readers have courage and strong beliefs and opinions and are not afraid to stand up for them. That most definitely includes you!**

 **BUT unless you actually lived in a conservative well off family and were having children in the 90's, like I was when it comes to what was and was not acceptable, you will just have to take my word for what was acceptable. Or not. It affects my life in no way.**

I was absolutely in love with my new baby. Oh, and Draco too, but the new has worn off of him!

Miranda Lucia Malfoy. I loved writing her name on everything. I felt like a goofy teenage girl. Draco and I both spent the first few days just watching her every moment, absolutely enthralled by her adorable fingers and toes. Her tiny pale blonde curls and her eyes that were the exact color of her Daddy's.

Our family gave us time to settle in before they descended on us. And by time I mean approximately twelve hours.

And then I had visitor after visitor. I was so exhausted I was ready to sit down and cry when Draco finally lost his temper.

Ron had come over with Hermione and I could barely keep my eyes open.

Miranda was cranky and was having trouble latching on and nursing. And like most new mothers I blamed myself. I was certain I was a terrible mother, and the now brown fern in the corner proved that. I must have bad breast milk that she hates and I would have to use a bottle and I would never get the temperature right.

Both Draco and I were suffering from sleep depravation when the doorbell rang and there was my brother and his fiancé. Draco had just spent the last half hour comforting me and trying to convince me I was not the most inept mother on the planet when they arrived.

Hermione commented on how exhausted I looked and offered to babysit for a bit, which was very kind.

Ron… was Ron. When I explained that Miranda would not latch on he said "Wow, I didn't even know snakes COULD nurse their babies, maybe you should ask Mum for help."

That was it! I knew, I just knew it was because I am an animagus. I had doomed my baby so I could learn a cool new trick. Healer Bhatia said it would have no affect on my milk, but even my own brother could see I was no good at this.

That was more than I could handle. I curled up and cried in to the sofa arm. I could barely hear Ron as "What did you do to her, Malfoy? She never cries!" but I definitely heard Draco's response.

"You giant arse! It was your stupid comment. Do you ever think before you open your big fat mouth? Alya has been struggling enough, and she is exhausted! And you just called in to question her mothering skills. Now, as much as your sister may appreciate her family it is time to back off and leave her to rest. And spread the word. We will let you all know when we are up to receiving guests." And with that he ushered them out.

"Are you alright? You know your brother is just a moron. He didn't mean anything by what he said, I am pretty sure he thought it was a joke." Draco rubbed my back.

"I know" I sniffed. "But it is nice to know you will stick up for me sometimes."

Draco frowned "I stick up for you all the time."

"Not against our mother's you didn't." I reminded him.

"Why? What have those two meddlers done now, I will send them each a howler." He ran to grab the parchment making me laugh.

"Not now, when they insisted we get married and I didn't want to yet." I sniffed pitifully again.

"OK, I stand up for you when you are being reasonable." He handed me a wet cloth.

"I was being reasonable!" I protested.

"No, you weren't. You wanted to be married but not get married. You thought you were in any condition to elope and run away to get married. And all because you have these weird self esteem issues." He pulled me against his chest.

"I do not… well… not always, but I really was very fat. I looked awful." I reminded him.

"You were not fat, you were pregnant. And as far as I am concerned you never looked more beautiful." He stroked my hair.

"Still, you could have told them no!" I was not letting this go so easily.

"Why would I do that? It was counterproductive to what I wanted." I smirked at me.

"You foul git! You practically rolled me down that aisle yourself!" I was shocked "What kind of sneaky crap was that, pretending to be afraid of our mothers to get your way?!"

He pointed to his chest "Slytherin."

I refused to laugh.

"Now, be honest… aren't you happy we are married?" He did look worried, so I decided to let him off the hook."

"I am happy to be married. I just wanted to look pretty and have my wedding be perfect." OK, maybe I sounded a little self centered.

"What wasn't perfect about our wedding?" The arse sounded genuinely confused.

I started laughing, I couldn't help it 'I had a baby during our bloody ceremony!"

"A baby who is absolutely perfect." He smiled so lovingly into the bassinet that I finally caved.

"Fine, but I want jewelry." I was getting something out of this!

"You don't like jewelry." He reminded me.

"I will learn!" And it would be an expensive learning curve for him, damned it!

Two weeks later I felt ready to go back to work.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked concerned as I helped him with his tie.

"I am certain. I have my office set up with everything that Miranda needs and I have Frank to help me. I need to get out of this flat and feel productive again." Plus, I didn't want to say anything, but Frank had owled me that something was wrong and it had to do with Draco.

"Alright, love. But if you are overwhelmed or tired at all, send me an owl and I will bring you home." He insisted that he escort me to and from work.

When I got into the office Frank was at his desk and had just balled up a piece of parchment and threw it at the wall.

"Frank… I am certain that parchment is sorry for whatever it did to offend you." I tried for a little levity.

"We just lost another big account." He informed me with a tone of resignation.

"Another? What do you mean?" I had not been aware of any real troubles.

"Yes… well," he looked uncomfortable. "some of our clients have been concerned about the element we have introduced in to the business…"

"Element?" I had no idea what he was talking about.

"They mean me." Draco said sadly, placing Miranda in her crib.

"I have been together with Draco since fourth year! We have a child together!" How on earth could this be an issue now?!

"Yes, well, a lot of our investors are foreigners and they were not aware of the connection until after the wedding. Sorry, Draco, I did not want to say it so plainly but…" Frank looked positively miserable.

"No, I would rather you were up front than to hide this." Draco looked at me and then at the wall "I should have known that my past would bring you down."

"No one has brought me down, Draco Malfoy. Not you, and not those investors. Frank and I will figure this out. We are Vipers, it's kind of what we do." I kissed him soundly.

"Damned right we will!" Frank looked a little more lively.

"That's the spirit. Go to work Draco, we've got this!" I pulled out a chair.

.


	106. Reinventing the Malfoys

After a lot of idea were considered and thrown out, Frank and I finally came up with a plan to improve the Malfoy's, and by extension, our own, image with the wizarding world.

We needed charitable acts, and a LOT of them!

I reached out to Narcissa and asked her to meet me for lunch. She was happy to do so, as long as her beloved granddaughter was there, naturally.

Uggh, grandparents!

Once we got settled down in a nice little Italian bistro, and Narcissa had cuddled Miri to her heart's content, I got down to business.

"Narcissa, my company is facing troubles…" I wasn't sure how to start.

She smiled "And you need a loan?"

"What? NO! I mean, thank you, but finances aren't the problem…" I hesitated "It is more about well… reputation."

She looked at me thoughtfully. "Please continue."

I took a deep breath "Well, the family name suffered a great deal during the war and some of our investors are having trouble getting past that."

She nodded sadly. How did she manage to look regal while looking sad? "I assume you have called me here to offer suggestions and not merely state the obvious?"

Ouch, I had not meant to hurt her. "Yes, actually. Frank, that is Frank Gamp, I am certain you have heard of his family?"

"Yes, a solid family, good lines." She meant good pureblood lines, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Yes, that would be the one, as you are aware he is also my business partner. We thought the best way to accomplish a... revamp if you will… of the Malfoy name would be to start with a series of charitable enterprises, only we weren't certain where to begin, and I know how talented you are at these ventures, so you were the first I turned to for advice." There, jopefully stark flattery would work, it also did with Draco.

Like mother like son, she positively preened.

"As a matter of fact" she smiled at me "I do have some ideas. A large charity ball and auction always help to bring out the festivity and better natures of people. If we were to use the funds to support the appropriate charities, such as war orphans…"

I held up a hand "War orphans has been done to death. Everyone who holds a ball wants to benefit war orphans, I dare say they are now wealthier than I am. No, this has to make a BIG statement. One that shows unity and respect for all."

Narcissa tented her fingers and looked at me the same way Draco does when he knows I am going to say something he does not like. "Go on."

"After speaking to Hermione Granger and several other muggleborns," I ignored the pursing of her lips "I have discovered that many are forced to live on school charity for even basic supplies. Not all were fortunate enough to have moderately well to do parents the way Hermione was. They are using outdated books and ill suited wands."

As I talked Narcissa slowly relaxed and became thoughtful. "It certainly would show the Malfoys in a kinder light." She mused. "We can open the Malfoy Manor for the event and…."

She stopped as I shook my head "I am so sorry, but the Manor has very bad memories for some. We will need to get Harry, Ron and Hermione on board to show pure intentions, and I assure you there is no way any of them will agree to go back to the manor. They don't have fond memories of the last time they were "welcomed" in to your home."

And there it was there. I had learned an awful lot about what had happened during my seventh year. I was not in the mood to pretend it had not. And I certainly was not going to insist that my brother, future sister and brother in law return to the place they had ruddy well been tortured!

I saw that scar on Hermione's arm. Sadly, it killed a lot of my childhood innocence to see it. I could no longer pretend that the Malfoys were just a kindly misunderstood family with radical ideals. No… they had actively participated in the torture of others. I still loved them and I was willing to help them as much as I could, they are family now, but I no longer had blinders on.

"I see… and do you have an alternative venue in mind?" she asked a little tensely.

"I… no, I was hoping maybe to rent a hall or…" I had no idea what to do.

She smiled gently and kindly "I can definitely see why you need my assistance. I still have some pull at a variety of places. Toil and Trouble will open their establishment to us."

Toil and Trouble was one of the most exclusive clubs with a world class restaurant.

"Do you really think they would open to us? That would be amazing and it would certainly get us a lot of press attention." I was becoming very excited about the idea.

'I will owl the owners as soon as I get home. They will handle the event itself. People are very excited about your brother and his friends, perhaps you could persuade them to donate a few items for the auction?" I realize she rarely references Harry, Ron or Hermione by name.

"I am certain they will be happy to do so. And if they are not, Hermione will bully them in to it." I laughed lightly.

Narcissa smiled tightly but nodded. I wondered if she genuinely did not like the so-called Golden Trio, or if she was ashamed of her actions. Or perhaps her inaction.

As soon as our lunch was over I went back to the office feeling much lighter.

I told Frank everything that had happened.

"Wait… Narcissa MALFOY agreed to help start a fund for under privileged muggleborns? Did you take a sniff for polyjuice potion?" Frank laughed.

"She absolutely did, and what is more she is going to get Toil and Trouble to host it!" I grabbed his hands and danced around like a kid.

"Hmmm…" he laughed down at me "I wonder what dirt she has on the proprietors?"

"And they call ME a cynic. Did it ever occur to you that they might do it because Narcissa is charming and persuasive?" I slapped his arm.

"Did it ever occur to me that Narcissa Malfoy would help to create a charity for muggleborns and use her charm to get her way? No. Huh uh. Not even once." He shook his head vehemently.

I laughed again. "We need to get press releases ready, and I have to get my brother and his friends to donate… something?"

Frank wrinkled his nose "Like… something what? Toenail clippings? Old smelly gym socks?"

"That is positively vile Frank Gamp!" I took Miranda back to my office for her afternoon nap.

"Used toothicks? Napkins they have wiped their delicate lips with?" He called after me.

"I am going to need you to stop talking Gamp!" I laughed.


	107. This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

I wish I could say it was all golden and roses from that moment on. It was so not.

First Draco wanted me to leave everything to his mother and focus on my health and recovering from having a baby. I almost wished that I could. I really did get very tired. I was taking a lot of naps. But I had to do this. My name had to be attached to his.

I think that was one of his fears, that if this all went wrong I would somehow be dragged down. And, maybe I would. So? I have survived much worse than people having a bad thought about me!

Still, there was so much to do! First we had to secure the items to be auctioned. We had average run of the mill items, artwork and gift certificates to every manner of store, including Weasley Wizarding Weases, a night's stay at the Leaky Cauldron (I know, I know, but it would have hurt Tom's feelings if I had turned it down). Special portkey vacations. A lot of people were really willing to throw in.

Ginny and the Holyhead Harpies threw in free season tickets!

And then there were the special items.

Hermione signed and donated her very first copy of Hogwarts: A History.

Harry donated one of the scrolls he had written his Quidditch play strategy on, which I thought was brilliant!

Ron… bless him, donated the dress robes he had worn to the Yule Ball. Of course he may have just wanted to get rid of them…

And then there were the press releases sent to all of the papers, and the invitations to have printed and owled out.

But finally, it was all done!

The night of the charity ball one of the Malfoy's house elves came over to watch Miranda. It was the first time I had left her and I was incredibly nervous. Bless little Lavvy though, she just listened careful to all of my instructions and was very patient with me. I did think I saw her roll her eyes when Draco finally dragged me away though…

The entire event was just beautiful. Draco and I were dressed in black and gold. We wanted to keep the green to a minimum. I am very proud to be Slytherin, but for tonight… It was better to downplay the association.

All of the Vipers showed and were just stunning. Pria came with Fred. I reminded him of the note I wrote him. Causing Pria to promptly hit me in the arm with her clutch.

Anyone who was anyone had shown up, including, ugh the Greengrasses. I was very happy to see Daphne. And tolerated Pansy for Draco's sake. They told me they were in the process of adopting a little boy.

"Oh, you will be such a wonderful mother, Daphne!" I gushed.

"Hey, what about me? Won't I be a wonderful mother?" pouted Pansy.

"Well… if you do everything Daphne tells you to, I suppose you will be able to diaper the correct end of the baby." I said pretending to mull over the question. Everyone laughed.

I had to admit after I was able to relax a bit I was enjoying the night off from Miranda. She is the most incredible baby in the world. Truly gifted for finding her own toes so quickly as far as I was concerned, but a night to be a wife, not wife AND mother was very nice.

And Draco was so attentive. He made sure I had plenty of non alcoholic drinks, still breastfeeding meant no firewhiskey or champagne for me.

Toil and Trouble had really gone out of their way to make certain everything was absolutely perfect. The food was amazing, and they even had a beautiful orchestra to dance to.

I was getting a little tired though. I had barely had any time to spend with my friends since I had to act as the hostess. Draco had disappeared with Blaise and Theo to sneak in a hand of poker in the gentlemen's lounge. I had absolutely no interest in going to the ladies lounge to gossip about the tonne.

I finally found Esme and begged her to find me a quiet place to relax for just a few moments. Draco still hated for me to go anywhere by myself. I think the only reason he went off with Blaise and Theo is that my father, his father and all of my brothers were present.

And all included Charley. My other brothers can be scary, but Charley tames DRAGONS! No one tangled with him.

Esme gave Frank a kiss on the cheek and said she was feeling a bit tired too. She rested her hand on her belly. I was surprised she had even turned out! She still had two months to go.

We found a quiet little lounge area near the restrooms hidden by a curtain. With a purse of her lips Esme cast a disinfecting spell on our chairs "This far out of the way" she explained "you never know what people have done on these chairs."

"Oh, now there is a lovely thought." I said with disgust and we both laughed.

It was really nice catching up. "You have no idea how much you have done for Frank." Esme gripped my hand "After James he just looked so… lost… to have your confidence in him really helped him to enjoy life again."

"Oh HO, you think I helped HIM? Do you have any idea how crappy my business would be without him? Can you imagine ME trying to play nice with our clients? Our business would have closed in a week!" I was being completely honest.

As we sat there talking and laughing and trying to decide exactly how serious Pria and Fred were getting, pretty serious was the conclusion we came to, I heard familiar voices.

"You cannot seriously mean to keep up this farce of a marriage Draco." Draco? MY Draco? As if there were any other. "Now that the baby is born, Alya is easily set aside, free her to be with someone more her speed. You need a wife who won't be an embarrassment to you and your family. A pureblood wife carrying on a business. It just isn't done Draco!"

I stood up. I planned to tear this bitch limb from limb.

"Alya, calm down…" Esme started to say but I was in no mood to be calm.

Their voices could be heard still carrying down the hall.

"My marriage is anything but a farce, and it is anything but YOUR business. Now, remove your hand Astoria. You have had far too much to drink and you forget yourself." Remove her hand from WHERE precisely?

I stormed down the hall with Esme hot on my heels "Let Draco handle this, Alya, he is doing fine on his own. Don't over react…"

"I do not intend to over react, Esme." I gritted through my teeth.

How hell no, I intended to ACT.

I came around the corner to see Astoria training her fingers up Draco's chest.

"Get your hands OFF of my husband." I was trying not to shout, I didn't want to cause a scene, but I was going to do her damage if she didn't MOVE.

Sneering at me the bitch had the nerve to kiss Draco on the lips. My wand was out before I could think about what I was going to do.

"CALVORIO!" I cast and watched every bit of that sneaky little slut's hair fall off.

Draco just stared between the two of us his eyes wide.

Esme sighed "This is why we can't have nice things."


	108. The Fall Out

**Astoria Greengrass Sports New Look at Gala**

 **Rita Skeeter**

 **Astoria Greengrass was seen leaving the charity ball hosted by the New Mrs. Malfoy nee Weasley with a brand new look. She had not one strand of hair out of place. Indeed this would have been impossible as Miss Greengrass had no hair at all!**

 **Rumor has it that she was in fact cursed by the new Mrs. Malfoy for overstepping her place with Mr. Malfoy. Clearly thew New Mrs. Malfoy has a jealous streak.**

 **The Malfoys have issued no statements.**

 **When this reported suggested to Miss Greengrass that she had a lovely shaped head for this new look Miss Greengrass let loose a stream of unprintable invectives.**

I crumpled the paper and threw it across the room my head in my hands. What in the name of Salazar Slytherin had I done?!

Needless to say we left right afterwards. Partly because the event was over and partly because Draco could NOT stop laughing. That had not helped anything. And it wasn't like I could take the high road. I had cursed a girl's hair to all fall out!

"If it had been Harry she would have had bats flying from her nose!" Ginny had come over to check on me.

"Not helping Ginny!" I groaned.

"Oh… I'm sorry, did you think I was trying to help? This is just too funny! You HAVE to teach me that hex!" Ginny could not stop laughing.

"This isn't funny Gin! I single handedly doomed my business AND the Malfoy reputation!" Why oh why couldn't I control my temper?

Draco kissed me on the head on his way past, he was bouncing Miri on his shoulder "Love, the Malfoy reputation was ruined long before you came along." He pointed at his chest "Death Eater remember?"

"Not helping either Malfoy!" I grumbled.

"Ah, yes, but you are a Malfoy now too, and that makes this so deliciously hysterical." Ginny continued laughing.

"Poor Frank, he will have to get a job, and they have a baby on the way. I have ruined everything!" I was ready to sit down and cry.

"Speaking of Gamp" Draco interrupted my well deserved self abuse "isn't that his owl?"

"Yeah, it is" I saw Frank's owl settle on our perch with a scroll tied to her leg "he probably wants to tell me how he has to change his name and move away just to get a job as a school custodian. A MUGGLE school custodian."

I took the scroll and gave the little owl a treat.

"Get to the office NOW!" was all the scroll said.

I got up resignedly and put on a nice business skirt and blouse. If I was going to have my best friend yell at me, I might as well look professional for it.

I sighed "Off to face the music." I made my way to our floo.

"I will go with, I am meeting Harry for lunch." Ginny stood up and kissed Miranda on the top of her head "do NOT take lessons from your mother on dealing with enemies young lady! She warned Miri, who gurgled happily back at her.

Outside of our office building I straightened myself and mentally prepared for the berating I would get.

Ginny kissed my cheek and hugged me. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Eventually."

When I got in my office I was not surprised to see Esme there. She probably wanted a piece of my hide as well.

I was surprised to see all of the other people. Mostly strangers. I seemed to recall meeting a few of them at the gala.

"What… what is going on?" I asked in a state of shock.

"I am NOT your secretary Alya!" Esme shouted sounding very harried. "You get in here and set these appointments. Since my husband can't go to lunch I am calling Mora!"

I watched in mute silence as Esme got up from my desk and rushed out.

I tried to make sense of what was happening. "Frank?" I asked confused.

"Just set appointments, we will figure out how to fit everyone in and what their needs are later!" He looked just as frazzled as Esme had.

I sat down and called the next person forward "That was brilliant last night, Mrs. Malfoy." A young woman said stepping forward and adding her name and contact information to a list. "I would have done exactly the same thing! It will be a pleasure working with such a strong witch!"

"I… uh… thank you…" I followed Frank's lead and let her know we would be in touch.

Every person who stepped forward said pretty much the same thing. That they were happy to work with me since I could clearly stand up for myself they knew I would take care of them as well.

Most of our new clients were either young women, many with engagement or wedding rings, or young men who confessed their wives, or girlfriends or fiancés had insisted they come here.

We did not finish until well after eight pm!

When the last new client was seen out the door Frank locked it firmly and collapsed on my couch.

We looked at each other and after a few shocked moments started laughing hysterically.

"If I had known that all it would take to get us new business was to hex someone bald, you would have been wearing knit caps long ago." Frank laughed.

I threw a wad of parchment at him laughing.

"What are we going to do, Frank? We can't handle this many clients, just you and I!"

"We will figure it out, we will have to hire help. Hell, we will need help just to set all of these appointments for some time this century!"

"OK, well, we need to start looking. And it has to be someone we can thoroughly trust this time. No more Donald/Mulcinber's!" I felt sorry for whoever was going to have to go through Draco's rigorous screening.

"Well, I have a wife to make up to, and Draco will want you home soon." Frank said groaning as he stood.

"Fred and George are good at the whole business thing. I will ask one of them to come over and help us, but we need to close the office tomorrow until we sort this." And while I slept for seventy six hours!

"I agree, you owl Fred and George." Frank grabbed up the stacks of contacts and shoved half at me "We will go through these and get a start on appointments."

I groaned "I thought that was why we were hiring people?!"

"If you think you can get Draco to approve someone in time to get that done, then I agree, let's leave it to them." He was still holding out the scrolls.

"Oh shut up." I growled and took my half.

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	109. Harry and Ginny's Wedding Part I

Frank and I stayed so busy we barely left the office during the next two months it seemed like.

Ginny and Harry's wedding was coming up and I felt like the world's worst twin for not helping more, but by the time I got home in the evenings I barely had time to eat before I collapsed in to bed.

Frank was absolutely correct, Draco denied almost every applicant that came forward. This one was too inexperienced, this one was too experienced and would steal our clients. Another had, and I quote, "shifty eyes".

"For Merlin's sake Draco, I don't intend to spend my time staring into their eyes. I am bloody BUSY!" But he refused to budge.

Fred came over for a bit to help out, but he and George have their own business to run. He at least helped us get organized. I was really quite impressed with how much he knew about creating client lists and organizing our funds.

He laughed when I told him this "What? Did you think Freddie and I spent all of our time throwing dung bombs and slipping love potions into unsuspected dewy eyed girls' tea?"

"Well… to be honest? Yeah… kind of." I really had not given it much thought what they actually did.

"I guess we rather deserve that, but no, running a business, even a joke shop is serious work." I had a whole new level of respect for my brothers.

I finally got a break when Draco approved someone. An Auror named Calista had been injured on the job and had been set to desk work, but she hated being in her former office when she could not go on assignment. She was absolutely amazing with numbers and organizing files. She had us completely set up in time for me to take a few days off and get my gown for Ginny's wedding.

Fortunately all of her friends had pitched in and took over the duties I was supposed to have as a maid of honor. Including planning a wedding shower.

I had a way to make it up to her though. Draco helped me arrange it all.

"Gin, have you decided where you will be going for your honeymoon?" I asked during the shower while trying to avoid an over eager young man who was doing a very vigorous job of dancing and removing clothes.

"Here, if I give you a galleon will you go dance over there?" I finally asked him in exasperation. Once I gave him the galleon he was happy enough to go bother someone else.

"You really do love Draco, don't you?" Ginny asked with a smile.

"Of course I do, I wouldn't have married the arrogant prat if I didn't. Why do you ask?" I could finally breathe without that young man's cologne in my nose.

"Because a very attractive young man was taking his clothes off for you and you paid him to STOP!" she laughed.

I looked at the stripper and shrugged "He's OK, I have better at home. But back to the question, where are you going on your honeymoon?"

She shrugged "We just thought we would stay at Grimmauld Place and… well… you know… enjoy being married."

"Ginny I have been staying in Fred and George's room for two nights. You have quite enjoyed the perks of being married alright." I laughed when she blushed.

"Damned thin walls... anyway, why do you ask?" She was clearly eager to change the subject.

"Because Draco and I would like to offer our Italian Villa for you and Harry to use as long as you would like. Draco has already secured the portkey for the journey there you just have to decide on the return date." I handed her the parchment with departure instructions.

Ginny squealed and hugged me "Best twin ever!" she declared.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't "enjoy being married" in my treehouse!" I warned her.

The day of Ginny's wedding was absolutely beautiful. In traditional Weasley style we were holding it at the Burrow, just with less Ministry being overthrown and Death Eaters attacking.

Mum was running around in a panic, just certain she had not prepared enough food.

There was a large young man standing awkwardly by himself. I had never seen him before.

I went over to introduce myself "Hi, I am Alya Weasley, you look a little… overwhelmed."

"Yeah… I guess. I am not used to being around your lot." He didn't look overwhelmed, I noticed up close, he looked terrified!

"Oh now, we Weasley's aren't so bad I mean we can be a little loud and…" he was looking at me as if I had gone mental.

"The last time I was around a Weasley I hate a toffee that made my tongue grow, Mum and Dad had fits, we couldn't exactly go to a doctor you know." Ate a toffee?

"Oh, Fred and George and their pranks. I am so sorry, we aren't all like that. A doctor, that is like a muggle healer, right?" Who was this guy?

"Yeah, I guess" he stuck his hand out awkwardly "Dudley Dursley."

"OH! Harry's cousin, right? I am sure he is glad that you are here…" I had no idea what to say.

"I am sure he would rather never hear from any of us again, but mending bridges and all that, you know? I would at least like our children to be friendly." He was kind of babbling nervously.

"Well, Dudley Dursley, you are very welcome here. Have you met Hermione? She grew up in a muggle home, so you might have some things in common. And I will keep Fred and George away from you." I dragged him over and plopped him down next to Hermione and Luna as they seemed like the least threatening of our group.

I felt two hands wrap around my middle and a kiss on my neck. "It looks like you have a new fan."

I turned in Draco's arms to kiss him properly. "He's Harry's cousin, you know, the muggle? He looked lost."

I let him go as soon as I saw the man standing behind him and threw myself into his arms "CHARLEY! I am so glad you could make it, Salazar how I have missed you!"

Charley laughed and swung me around "Where is my niece?"

I forgot he had not seen her yet "She's with the Vipers, come on, I will introduce you."

I dragged him by the hand to my friends. Mora was holding Miri and I don't know if it was just my imagination… but Charley seemed more interested in Mora than in his niece.

That was no good. Charley was a bigger womanizer than Fred or George ever had been. I gave him a warning look before I went to help Ginny finish getting ready. He responded with his most charming "What did I do?" grin. That may work on any other female, but I was his sister and I watched him practice that look in the mirror!

I checked on Dudley as I went by. I brought him a muggle beer, I despise them, but dad is absolutely mad for them so they make an appearance at every event. Harry gave me a side hug and thanked me as I went past him.

"You can repay me by keeping my oaf brother away from my friend!" I glared in Charlies direction. Merlin, he had Mora laughing!

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	110. Harry and Ginny's Wedding Part II

The family had really out done themselves this time. There were white flowers everywhere and Mum had even managed to wrangle some small fairies to provide light.

Everything looked perfect. I was so happy for my twin.

My twin, however, looked ready to crawl out a window.

"What on earth is wrong with you Ginevra Weasley?! You have the man you have been in love with since… well, since even before school waiting down at the end of that aisle for you, and you look ready to bolt!" and she really did.

"I can't… not today! Look at this!" she pointed to the tiniest blemish I had ever seen on the side of her nose.

"Ginny, for heaven's sake! I walked down the aisle nine months pregnant and gave birth at the altar! Let's have a little perspective here!" I laughed.

After looking at me for several moments, so did she.

I called in Pria and she used a quick charm to remove the blemish "There." Pria announced "You are now perfect."

And she truly was, it made me choke up just a bit.

Ginny was the most beautiful bride. Ron as Harry's best man walked me down the aisle and Harry looked so handsome. He also looked ready to throw up on his shoes.

I leaned in towards him and whispered "Do you want me to sneak you out the backdoor?"

He looked at me shocked a moment and then laughed. "No, I think I will make it."

When Ginny came in next the look in Harry's eyes made me tear up. I was so glad my sister had someone who loved her so passionately. Those two had been through an awful lot. They deserved their happy ending.

After their vows had been said and they had been announced as husband and wife, I went to find my own husband.

Draco wiped the tears away and pronounced me the most silly sentimental sap of a Slytherin he had ever seen.

We had an amazing meal, completely prepared by my mother. Of course they were all Ginny's favorites, which meant there were a few things I wouldn't touch, but the dessert. Ginny and I had always shared a love of desserts.

At the end of the dinner, Ron got up and stumbled his way through a toast. It was adorably awkward.

"Who knew," he started "that the biggest bunch of misfits Hagrid had ever seen, and that is saying a lot" everyone laughed "would end up so happy in the end? Now Harry, you aren't just my best friend, but my brother. Not that you weren't always, I think Mum would have tossed me over for you" more laughter and Mum called "Oh Ronald" before wiping tears "but now it is official. And like any brother, if you hurt my sister I WILL hex you."

"Ginny will do it first!" Called Fred.

"She may even beat us in the pleasure of pummeling you to a bloody pulp mate!" George laughed.

"Her hexes are no joke!" Neville added.

"I think wrackspurts are attacking Ron, don't you think he has wrackspurts?" pondered Luna, making everyone laugh.

"Anyway!" interrupted Ron, "We now both have the women of our dreams" he smiled tenderly at Hermione, they had only just got engaged "and I doubt any group of misfits could be happier."

He and Harry and Hermione looked at each other so fondly, it made me start crying again.

I really wish the division of war and blood and houses had not forced us all to be on opposite side. I could have seen the three of them fitting in with the Vipers very nicely.

"Well… almost" Fred interrupted "I asked for Harry's permission to steal a little of his light today." He went to one knee before Pria "Pria Patel, you are the most amazing thing to have ever happened to me. Will you please make an honest man of me?"

He opened a box and inside was a lovely ring with a lion on one side and a snake on the other.

Pria couldn't even speak, she just nodded her head happily and let Fred slip the ring on her finger.

After that Harry and Ginny led off the dancing they looked perfect together. I was brought back to the night of the Yule Ball. I thought Harry was just a bad dancer then. As it turns out he just had the wrong partner.

And at the time, so had I. I squeezed Draco's hand and leaned in for a kiss. I definitely had the right partner now. And so did Harry.

Draco and I joined the dancing holding Miranda between us. She gurgled and spit up on both of us, it was perfect.

Luna led poor Dudley Dursely in to one of her odd waving arm dances.

To his credit he went along with it. I knew how horrible Harry's childhood had been and how much he had longed for a family of his own. Hopefully he and Dudley would continue to be on friendly terms.

Well, except I had not actually seen them speaking. Maybe friendly was the wrong term. Less hostile? Nodding acquaintances? That may be the best they could hope for, but it was lovely that Dudley wanted his children and Harry's to get along.

I was so happy looking around I saw that Mora and Charley were both missing. I sighed. If he made her another one of his victims I swear he would need his dragons to protect him!

Frank and Esme danced happily, if a little awkwardly due to her very round belly.

I was so happy to have all of my friends and family around me.

I needed to take a few minutes to myself. I went to the wreckage of my old tree house.

I loved that Draco had made a new one for me, I really did. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for me.

But this one I had created with my own two hands. It was irregularly shaped, and looking back, probably not terribly safe, but it was the first thing that was just mine.

I would give up all of the Italian Villa's and fancy dinners in the world just to have that tree house back. The place where I had first dared to dream I could be more than just the weird quiet Weasley with brown hair.

I looked at the ground and notice among the wreckage one tiny sapling just starting to grow.

Life finds a way.

I knew Draco had joined me before he said anything. He walked up and pulled me back against his chest.

"Are you sorry that our wedding was not as perfect as this one?" He asked kissing the top of my head.

"Hmmm? Oh Draco, absolutely not!" I turned and buried my face into his chest. "We may not have had a perfect wedding, but we have a perfect marriage." And what else could a snake have asked for?

.


	111. 19 Years Later

**And here we are, my lovelies, at the end of Alya and Draco's story. For all who have stayed with me through all 111 Chapters, thank you. I hope you have been entertained. All of you have kept this story alive and strong. I could not have asked for a better group to write for. You have my sincere thanks.**

"And that is pretty much the end of our story. For now." I finally finished looking across at my beautiful daughters and son.

Miranda, my oldest and the light of my life. She is the perfect combination of my and Draco's looks. But she has his lovely eyes. She is facing her own struggles at Hogwarts. I learned the best thing I can do is to love her and support her and only step in if she specifically asks me to.

And my twins, Cissa, who looks like a small carbon copy of myself at her age and Scorpius who could have been Draco's twin instead of Cissa's. he even had the signature Malfoy smirk down.

Cissa and Scorpius would be starting school this year. I finished the story I had been sharing with them, much to Draco's amusement, a few weeks ago.

"I hope I find the boy I want to marry at Hogwarts the same as you and Miranda did." Cissa, ever my romantic sighed.

"Yes, well, let's not say that too often where Daddy can hear." I laughed "He isn't a young man anymore."

Draco laughed and leaned forward to kiss me. "I'll show you who isn't young anymore later."

The answer to the question would my tummy ever stop flipping over when he looked at me like that is absolutely not.

"But your Mum is right, no finding boys to marry until you are much older. Let's say…" he pretended to think "Oh seventy five should be a good age."

"And who says I found the guy I want to marry?" Miranda harrumphed. We all laughed at that.

Miranda was certainly my most willful child.

"Miri, I absolutely forbid you to get in to any trouble this year!" I warned her. "You have such a bright future ahead of you, it would be a shame to waste it because you are on punishment until you are thirty five." Yup, it was official, I had turned in to my mother.

"It isn't like I go looking for trouble mother." She stated with an imperius shake of her head.

"It isn't like you go out of your way to avoid it either, young lady. And don't sass your mother." Draco intervened.

Miri pouted but Draco softened the blow by pulling her in for a hug.

"And that goes double for you Scorpius," I warned him. I do not want any owls telling me you and Albus have been up to no good."

"Hey, Al and I don't go out of our way looking for trouble either!" He said indignantly.

"Speaking of which, there's your brother and Hermione." Ron and Draco had only finally warmed to one another when partnered at the Auror's office when Harry had been promoted to Head of Magical law Enforcement.

Hermione looked very chic. But then she had to, she was in a hard race for Minister of Magic. She would be the youngest ever if she won the election.

"Hey you two!" I called happily "Have you seen Harry and Gin?"

"Here they come now." Ron nodded over my shoulder. Harry had stopped to help Albus with his shoes. From the look on Ginny's face I could tell James had been a little shit again.

I hugged my twin and then my niece and nephew. "James, can't you try to not antagonize your brother?" I ruffled his hair. Not that you could tell, he had his father's wild locks.

"Anything for you Aunt Snake!" He ran off to find his friends as we all laughed.

"Is it the Slytherin thing again?" I whispered to Ginny and she nodded.

I hugged Albus. "I know you want to be a Gryffindor like your father. And I promise to try and be proud of you even if you are a Gryffindork." I promised.

He laughed.

"Well, we will be proud of you as long as you aren't a Hufflepuff, we have enough of those already." Draco teased him.

James came running back "Guess what I just saw?! Teddy was snogging Victoire! OUR Victoire! Our cousin." He finished as if he wanted to make sure that we understood.

"You little arse, I hope you didn't bug them!" Miri glared at her young cousin.

"I most certainly did! I asked what he was doing and he said he was seeing Victoire off."

"You interrupted them? You are so like your Uncle Ron." Ginny sighed making Ron shout "Hey!" and the rest of us laugh.

Ron and Hermione's daughter Rose was starting school this year too.

"Now, Rose." Ron said quite seriously. "I am not saying that have a bet going with your Uncle Draco over who will get the better grades, you or Scorpius, because that goes completely against your Mother's wishes, and I am also not saying if you bring home better grades I will split any winnings that I will absolutely NOT be getting with you." We all laughed as the kids got on the train.

It wasn't a perfect life, but it was as close to it as could be while still being interesting.

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End file.
